USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Bridgewater > Old Bridgewater tercentenary (1656-1956) : June 13-17 1956 > Part 3
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1836 - Sabbath School established.
1845 - Ladies' Sewing Circle formed.
1854 - Church Building dedicated - De- cember 4.
1894 - Young People's League formed.
1900 - Hall and stage built.
1906 - Church interior remodeled.
1934 - Joppa Guild organized.
1954 - Building rededicated on its 100th Anniversary, the twelfth minister of the Society officiating at the ceremony.
THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
In 1834 a Universalist Society was formed which held services occasionally in the home of Lewis Keith near the Uni- tarian Church. In 1851 they erected a House of Worship on the site where the Crombie Tavern stood near the present site of the Public Library. In 1857 the Universalist Society was disbanded.
THE METHODIST CHURCH REV. JOHN D. SPANGLER, Pastor.
The Methodist Protestant Church was organized in 1842. In 1844 the meetings were held in the Satucket schoolhouse. This society disbanded a few years later, but another Society, the Methodist Epis- copal Church, was formed and met in Northville.
In 1856 a group of Methodists met for preaching services with Deacon R. M. Smith in the "old Voight Place" at the corner of Pearl and West Union Streets. They were joined by the Northville group as well as a small group from So. Abing- ton. A canvass for funds for the support of a pastor was made, and Mr. Smith pur- chased the building formerly used by the Universalists.
Many memorable years followed. The year 1867 saw the purchase of a bell said to have been cast by Paul Revere. In 1878 the Church Hymnal was introduced in this pastorate; in 1889 an Epworth League was organized.
Seeming disaster struck the church on May 21, 1903, when the building was de- stroyed by fire. With the encouragement and aid from citizens and other churches plans for a new building were started im- mediately. This edifice was dedicated on May 8, 1904. The organ in the church was made by the Cole Organ Company of Bos- ton and the new bell was made in Cincin- nati.
The Epworth League of 1889 became the Youth Fellowship: Junior, Intermedi- ate and Senior. The "Sewing Society of 1857", through steady expansion, became in 1942 the Woman's Society of Christian Service.
In 1949 an extensive program of re- pairs and improvements on church and par- sonage was completed. This year the audi- torium was redecorated.
In June, 1957, the centennial of the church will be celebrated. The church now, as in 1857, is striving to fulfill the spiritual needs of its members and to serve the com- munity wherever it is called upon to do so.
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ST. JOHN'S PARISH, 1863 - 1956 REV. DANIEL J. SCULLY, Pastor.
Early town records reveal the presence of many Catholic families in East Bridge- water prior to the Civil War, but until 1863 no Catholic Church was erected in the town for St. Patrick's Church in North Bridgewater served the needs of the Catho- lics of the three Bridgewaters. In 1862, however, the number of Catholics in East Bridgewater had so increased that it was thought feasible to establish in this town a church of their own. Under the leader- ship of Reverend Thomas B. McNulty, pas- tor of St. Patrick's Church, North Bridge- water, a committee of local Catholics ar- ranged for the purchase of a church which had previously served the Methodists. In January 1863, this building became the first Catholic Church in East Bridgewater and was known as St. Bridget's. But on Sunday, March 5, 1893, fire demolished this tiny edifice and once again the Catholics were without a church.
Construction was started in the sum- mer of that year and on Sunday, April 29, 1894, the new building was formally dedi- cated by His Excellency, Archbishop John J. Williams.
"A room of quiet - a temple of peace, The home of faith: - where doubtings cease.
A house of comfort - where hope is given;
A source of strength - to make earth heaven;
A shrine of worship - a place to pray - I found all this in my church today."
Sunday afternoon June 20, 1954, fire raged uncontrollably throughout the entire struc- ture until only the foundation remained. In a short time plans were approved for the third Catholic Church in East Bridgewater. Reverend Edward J. Sullivan received ex- pressions of sympathetic understanding in the forms of donations and offers of build- ings for temporary use by the townspeople of all faiths, reaffirming the spirit of unity and brotherhood characteristic of the town. During the fifteen months of construction, the Central School auditorium was used for the celebration of the Mass on Sundays and holy days as the Town Hall had been used sixty-one years previous.
Of Colonial architecture the brick ve- neer building with a white tower stands to the right of the original site. Adjoin- ing the main church is a side chapel so situ- ated that the altar of the main church may be observed by those seated in the chapel. Here a bronze tabernacle, a gift of the parishioners in 1920 in memory of Rever- end William E. Kelly, pastor of the mis- sion church, and the only article not de- stroyed by fire, adorns the altar. Select and choice appointments throughout the church are evidence of the generosity of parishioners and friends and of the careful thought and planning of the pastor, Rev- erend Daniel J. Scully, the fifteenth pastor to serve the East Bridgewater parish.
The parish now numbers 1,500 Cath- olics equally active and devoted to their church as the 759 who first established the parish.
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OLD BRIDGEWATER TERCENTENARY-1656-1956
NO SCHOO O SCHOOLS seem to have been estab- lished in East Bridgewater before 1700. In 1705 "Nathaniel Brett was chosen schoolmaster, to be paid 15 pounds per an- num, and 4 schooldames for the several quarters of the town to instruct small children in reading". The schools were probably kept in private houses as there was no school house in East Bridgewater until 1720.
The first schoolhouse stood near the Common and parts of its foundation could still be seen around 1900. This was the only schoolhouse for about fifty years. By 1773 East Bridgewater was divided into seven school districts and by 1785 there were ten school districts: Centre, Black Brook (later Eastville), Beaver, Joppa, North Ville, Setuckett, West Crook (later Auburnville), Pond, Barrell (later The Common), and Curtis (later Robbins Pond). East district provided its own schoolhouse, also a Prudential Committee and the expenses of the school from the district's share of the money appropriated by the town for that purpose. Edward Everett, then a student at Harvard Col- lege, taught the winter term in the Black Brook District, now Eastville.
In 1818 the Bridgewater Academy, a school for young ladies was built next to and west of the Old Cemetery. It was incorporated in 1937. In 1845 it was sold to William Allen and used as a private school. The original building is now stand- ing on Keith Place.
The first East Bridgewater High School was built in 1860 on the sandhill between what was later Keith Place and the rail- road track. The first, eighth and ninth school districts were united; the upper room was "highly furnished with desks and apparatus for the accommodation of a
Grammar School. The schools in the Dis- trict were partially reorganized, and a selection made of as many scholars as, in the best judgment of the Committee, were fitted, on account of age and advancement in study, for the Grammar department". Horace Cannon was the first teacher of the High and Grammar School, and the whole attendance was 65. A large propor- tion each term included more advanced scholars who studied Latin and Greek and "made good use of the black-boards in mathematics".
The Central School, a new consolidated school for pupils in grades one to six, in- clusive, was dedicated on June 17, 1950. The general design of the exterior of the brick school building is of colonial charac- ter. The interior design and plans are based on the latest teaching methods. There are eighteen classrooms, an All Pur- pose Room (with a stage) which is used both as an auditorium and a lunchroom, a serving kitchen, and a medical unit. The school faces Central Street and is acces- sible from both Bedford and Central Street for use of school buses and cars.
The present and second high school building was destroyed by fire in 1911. There was an attendance of 110 pupils when the new high school was opened in the Fall of 1913. This building was en- larged and rededicated as the Senior-Junior High School in 1937.
In 1953 due to a sharp increase in popu- lation, the Central School housed three sixth grades in the Town Hall and by 1955 it was necessary to move two more grades there. Overcrowding existed also at the Senior - Junior High School. On October 24, 1955, the town voted to construct, equip, and furnish a senior high school building.
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DEALOY AZCE HARRIS HOUSE
JUDGE HARRIS HOUSE
HENRY HOBART HUIDL
CENTRAL ST.
OLD BRICK STORE
OLD FORGE SITE
ELM-WOOD
INDIAN HERRING WEIR
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BRIDGEWATER TERCENTENARY-1656-1956
THE LIBRARY
Libraries were established in East Bridgewater at different periods. The Li- brary of the East Parish of Bridgewater, a library of religious books, was in use in 1770. In 1793 the Proprietors of a Library in the East Precinct of Bridge- water formed a library society. From the records the selection of books was judi- cially made. In 1836 the Reverend Adonis Howard and others formed a Social Li- brary in Joppa village. About 1838 a Vil- lage Library was kept in the law office of Welcome Young. John Adams Conant, Jr., started a library in Eastville about 1840, and an Agricultural Library was es- tablished in 1860.
The East Bridgewater Library Asso- ciation was formed in 1870. The voters of East Bridgewater voted on March 10, 1884, to establish a public library. The East Bridgewater Library Association pre- sented 468 books to the Public Library which was opened June 25, 1884, in a room over Isaac N. Nutter's store. The library was moved, with the town offices, into the Savings Bank building in 1885 and into the Masonic block in 1892.
On July 18, 1894, Cyrus Washburn of Wellesley Hills, a native of East Bridge- water, set aside $10,000 by a deed of trust stipulating that the trustees should pur- chase the lot formerly occupied by the Catholic Church and, upon his death, a building should be erected for the use of the town. as a library. Later, Mr. Washburn de- cided to have the building erected during his life. This building was dedicated Sep- tember 22, 1897. As the building was un- furnished, a fair was held netting over $300. From this sum curtains and 170 books were bought. During the years that followed rummage sales and fairs were held, and several permanent trust funds were established. In 1909, the 25th an-
niversary of the Public Library, there were nearly 6000 books in the library and a cata- log had been made.
In the early 1930's the book stacks were opened to the public and the former trustees' room was used as a children's room. Pupils from the High School were permitted during school hours to use the library for reference work and deposits of books were sent to the grade schools. In 1938, by a WPA project, the present chil- dren's room was completed, and the follow- ing year, also by a WPA project, the in- terior of the library was painted. In 1941 the library was recatalogued in the Dewey decimal system and the library was opened to the schools and public fifty-six hours a week during the school year.
During the war years, 1941 to 1946, the library was a headquarters for Civilian Defense activities. A service roll for citi- zens in the armed forces in World War II was kept in the entrance to the library and data obtained for their records. Cig- arettes, food and books were wrapped and mailed from the library with a mimeo- graphed service paper.
In 1949 the third floor of the library was remodeled for work rooms and an historical room; in the basement a periodi- cal room and a fine arts room were fin- ished. Out doors a new garden room was completed with the Mary Parker memorial fountain at the entrance. A new school branch library was opened in the Center School in 1950 and in 1954 a library room was equipped in the Town Hall school. A library of recorded music was added in the fine arts room during 1954. As of December 31, 1955, there are 21,844 vol- umes in the library.
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A bank called the East Bridgewater Bank was chartered in 1828 but closed after a few years as a result of speculation in Eastern Lands.
The East Bridgewater Savings Bank is the oldest banking institution of any kind in the Bridgewaters, including Brock- ton (North Bridgewater). Incorporated on March 8, 1870, the first report to the Commissioner of Banks on October 31, 1871, listed total deposits of $4,062.06. Today the Bank has the distinction of hav- ing more depositors than there are inhabi- tants of the Town of East Bridge- water. The assets on April 5, 1956, were $7,804,380.36.
The bank building has twice been ex- tensively remodeled, in 1922 and 1955. At the time of remodeling in 1955, a safe de- posit department was added.
Throughout its entire history the af- fairs of the East Bridgewater Savings Bank have been conducted by representa- tive citizens of this community. A notable feature in the history of the bank is that the third and present treasurer, and three trustees are the third generation of their families to serve the bank.
The East Bridgewater Cooperative Bank was incorporated in 1913. For 25 years it was quartered on the second floor of Fred E. Fuller's store in Central Square.
In 1938 the Vinton property, formerly the Charles Rogers home on the corner of Bedford and Central Streets, was sold to M. F. Roach and Sons. The house, one of the oldest in town, was redecorated by the new owners. On January 4, 1939, the Co- operative Bank moved to a suite on the first floor of this building. The total assets of the bank, March 30, 1956, were $921,239.61.
Changes brought about by economic and scientific developments were reflected in East Bridgewater. Indian paths gave way to roads and roads to streets. The Bedford Turnpike was built in 1806.
The steam railway brought here in 1847 was abandoned in 1925. Electric trol- ley lines established in 1897 were replaced in 1929 by motor bus service. A public water system, electricity and telephone service were installed soon after the turn of the century. Antennas were raised for radio in the early 1920's and for television 20 years later.
The town is still governed by the town meeting. The town offices were for many years on the second floor of the Savings Bank building. In 1950 the Hobart estate opposite the Town Hall was purchased for a town office building. The population has grown nearly four times greater since the incorporation of the town, from about 1,500 in 1823 to 5,359 in the 1955 state census.
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BRIDGEWATER
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BARTHOLOMEW F. CASEY, HARRY P. DUNN, LEO F. NOURSE
OLD BRIDGEWATER
TERCENTENARY-1656-1956
By WM. LORD MCKINNEY
In the South Parish the name of Bridge- water was inherited after the North, West and East Parishes became separate towns in that sequence in the years 1821 - 1823. Until the year 1822 the people of this parish attended town meetings in what is now West Bridgewater. This town was the last to be incorporated, thus retaining the name of Bridgewater, as a legacy.
It is likely that the first white men to visit this area were Winslow and Hopkins en route to see Massasoit in the summer of 1621. They encamped with the friendly Indian Tisquantum on the banks of the Titicut. It was formerly thought that this encampment was in Middleboro on the southern bank of the river but recent ex- cavations by Dr. Maurice Robbins have shown that the encampment was situated at the bend of the river on the north bank.
In the year 1633 the renowned Chicka- taubet "passed to the Happy Hunting Grounds", and there followed a division among the Titicut Indians and the ques- tion arose as to which group shall fall heir to these fertile lands north of the river. Then it was that the Duxbury men looked with longing eyes at the fresh meadows and giant timbers with an abundance of game and good fishing. Their dreams were realized in the purchase in the year 1649 from the friendly Sachem, "Ousamequin".
Within a few years a name was chosen for the plantation still known as a part of Duxbury. In all probability many other names were suggested but when it was finally decided to name the new settlement Bridgewater, no record was left as to the occasion which produced the name.
Edward Southworth and his family were interested in Somersetshire and one of the family built a chapel at Wick. Alice Car- penter of Wrington and Edward met there in that part of the country and the his- torians of the Southworth family seem to stress the importance of the place of their meeting. They journey with the pilgrim company and were married at Leyden, where a son, Constant, and his brother were born and their father died.
Now the scene changes to Plymouth where widow Alice Southworth arrived on the third ship Ann. Her two sons, Con- stant and Thomas Southworth, probably came with her or soon after her arrival. Thomas, the younger of the two, was about six years of age.
Alice Southworth becomes the wife of Governor Bradford, and the first lady of the Old Colony was a capable person with a fine family tradition. When Constant Southworth was appointed by the court to assist Captain Miles Standish in the pur- chase of the new plantation, now Bridge- water, from the Indians, Mrs. Bradford was concerned with the outcome of her stal- wart son's adventure and the new lands.
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GYMNASIUM STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE
OLD BRIDGEWATER TERCENTENARY-1656-1956
SHAW HOUSE
THE INN
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And these Southworths were clear in character and decisive. The story is told of Constant's daughter Elizabeth and her increasing interest in William Fobes, a son of John Fobes, one of the original pro- prietors of the town. Her father had de- clared his opposition to the courtship as indicated in his will: "to give my daughter Elizabeth my next best bed and furniture, with my wife's best bed, provided she does not marry William Fobes, but if she do, then to have but five shillings". Elizabeth chose the five shillings and William. They were married and left these parts for Little Campton, and William served with Captain Church in King Philip's War with distinc- tion, in defense of Bridgewater.
INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION
Two rival destinies through the cen- turies have been contending for suprem- acy in the growth of Bridgewater. In the early days it achieved some distinction as an "iron town", so-called; and later but no less seriously it as designated a "classic town".
Perhaps it was the ore deposits here- abouts three centuries ago that had an ap- peal equaling that of the fresh meadows, the fertile fields, the abundant game in the forests and good fishing in our "Great River".
A few years ago the late Samuel A. Eliot, author of many volumes on New England history, speaking here at an Academy anniversary, said: "few people realize that Bridgewater 150 years ago was one of the largest towns in the Com- monwealth, both in acreage and in popula- tion.
This early growth was due in no small measure to the ore deposits in our ponds and bogs, and perhaps in like measure to
the stress laid on the importance of educa- tion by the early clergy in Old Bridgewater, "in which the ministers of all four of its parishes for over 150 years were university bred men."
From the earliest times here and else- where the nail industry was of prime im- portance. At the forges iron was gathered from the blast furnaces and elsewhere and made into bars. The next step was to the slitting mills of which we had several even in the early years, and these bars which had been rolled into the width of about three inches, were cut into nail rods of varying thicknesses as the size required.
The nail rods were for sale in the stores and purchased by those desiring to make their own nails. The process seems to have been common in the early years of heat- ing the rods in a small forge in a shed and cutting the nail to the desired length on a chisel attached to an anvil. This practice was common up to the beginning of the last century, when machine-made nails entered the picture.
Perhaps it is well to mention the fact that with the forges, sawmills and tan- neries occupying the dam sites on the "Great River" and its streams, there arose the problem of fishing rights and as early as three centuries ago the disputes were many as to the taking of the alewives in the spring. The dams in some cases pre- vented the fish from reaching the upper ponds which in places resulted in the dams being displaced by interested parties. An early court action ended in a ruling that the dam should be so constructed as to al- low the passage of the alewives in season.
In the year 1716 the southern part of old Bridgewater was organized as the South parish and the parish church be-
OLD BRIDGEWATER TERCENTENARY-1656-1956
came the central point of interest. The Rev. James Keith preached the dedication sermon in the new meeting-house August 14, 1717, and the minister of Taunton preached in the evening service. Copies of both sermons have been preserved.
The first meeting house was rather small. The deacons sat facing the congre- gation and a partition separated the men and the women. The first settled minister was the Rev. Benjamin Allen graduate of Yale College, and he lived in the house now known as the Tory house, but earlier spoken of as the Leonard, Edson and Wash- burn house, at various times. Mr. Allen served the parish with distinction, but within ten years there arose difficulties in administration, which finally resulted in his retirement.
The Rev. John Shaw's ministry brought many innovations including the introduc- tion of many psalm tunes. Col. Josiah Edson, as deacon in the church, was ac- customed to lining out the psalm tunes, as he stood in front of the pulpit. At the be- ginning of the Revolutionary War the dea- con as usual one Sunday morning sounded forth and no one but his son responded. It was during the coming week that several of the citizens suggested to the Colonel that since his sympathies were with the British that he vacate his residence, which he did, with little bitterness on either side, since Josiah Edson had been one of the com- munity's most respected citizens.
The colonel served with the British on Long Island, where he died in the year 1781, according to the records in the Har- vard archives. His property was not con- fiscated here until the year 1783.
The historic Shaw residence on Plym- outh street, situated where the residences of Walter S. Little and Charles P. Lewis now stand, was the scene of his noted Greek and Latin school for boys, which he con-
ducted with great distinction till the com- ing of Dr. Sanger as his associate, who then added scientific studies and conducted the school in his own residence on Plymouth street. In the year 1799 Dr. Sanger was the leading spirit in the organization and founding of the Bridgewater Academy.
The first Academy building was erected in the year 1799 near where the old Bridge- water Inn stood and about opposite the Home National Bank's branch office.
On July fourth, in the year 1800, the trustees officially met and elected the Rev. Zedekiah Sanger the first Preceptor and "the school immediately commenced under most favorable circumstances.
In midwinter of 1822 late in the night the Academy building was discovered in flames and burned to the ground. Much discussion developed over the question of a new site for the Academy. Now the town was just laying out the town common in that year and the Lazell men and the school treasurer, Dr. Noah Fearing, were enthusiastically seeking to locate the new building where it stands today.
Captain Abram Washburn offered three hundred and seventy-five dollars for the old site of the Academy and after a bitter controversy it was accepted. The captain had a business motive and five years later erected the Inn, then but a two-story build- ing, on the land. At this time the town was ready to take on the name and traditions of Bridgewater, the other parishes having been styled the North, the West and East Bridgewaters.
To the sum received for the sale of the land, the Legislature added three hundred and fifty dollars. Subscriptions totaling thirteen hundred dollars were forthcom- ing, but the prolonged debate over the loca- tion of the new building caused some to withdraw their pledges and only one thou- sand dollars of the amount was collected.
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