USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts > Part 19
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The Forty-seventh Regiment was raised for nine months' service and left Boston, November 29, 1862, serving almost wholly in the defenses of New Orleans. Co. C was from Attleborough, and Co. D from New Bedford.
The Fifty-fourth Regiment was the first organization of colored sol- diers to leave the State. It contained Co. C from New Bedford, and a number of enlistments from Fall River and other points.
The organization of eight companies of the Fifty-eighth Regiment was completed April 25, 1864, and they left the State on the 28th; it was mustered out July 14, 1865, after the close of the war. Co. B was
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FROM 1860 TO 1898.
from Taunton, and Co. E from New Bedford, with a considerable num- ber of enlistments from Fall River and other towns.
Besides these organizations containing full companies from this county, Fall River, Taunton and New Bedford sent large numbers of men to the front in the Fifth and Sixth Batteries of Light Artillery; the Second and Third Regiments and the First Battalion of Heavy Artillery, all of whom contributed their share to the ultimate triumph of the Union arms. The figures given in this chapter show the part taken by the various towns of the county in furnishing men to the armies. Fall River supplied 1,845 men and 497 served in the navy. The soldiers' monument in Oak Grove Cemetery bears an honor roll of 163 names of fallen heroes. The city expended exclusive of State aid, on account of the war, $107,828.03, besides large sums for the aid of soldiers' families, which were repaid by the State. The mayor during the war period was E. P. Buffinton, a man of patriotic instincts, and he was supported by a Board of Aldermen including in its membership many substantial and generous citizens, whose acts indicated their de- votion to the Union cause.
The city of Taunton furnished a total of 1, 652 men to the armies, in- clusive of 159 to the navy, and expended on account of the war $196, - 719.23. A bronze memorial tablet in the City Hall, erected in 1888, bears the names of 141 men who fell in the service of their country.
The city of New Bedford furnished 3,200 men to the army and navy, which was 1,100 over all demands. It expended during the four years for the families of volunteers $125,495.85, and besides this expended on war account $177,000. The soldiers' monument in this place was erected and dedicated July 4, 1866, at a cost including the site of over $13,000.
The other towns of the county furnished the number of men as given: Acushnet, 58, with 7 to the navy; Attleborough, about 400; Berkley, 37; Dartmouth, about 141; Dighton, 105; Easton, 334; Fair- haven, 142; Freetown, 80; Norton, 66; Raynham, 39; Rehoboth, --; Seeekonk, 47; Somerset, 116; Swansea, 129; Mansfield, 267; West- port, 258.
Bristol county, and particularly New Bedford, contributed largely to the navy during the Rebellion, which sent 1,336 men into that branch of the service, many of whom were officers of distinction. These men served on about fifty different vessels, some of which were among the most noted of the war. The city of New Bedford also contributed a
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
large number of old vessels which were purchased by the government for the celebrated Stone Fleet, and were gathered in the lower harbor on November 15, 1861. On the 20th the fleet sailed and arrived at Port Royal December 11. Most of the vessels were afterward taken into Charleston harbor where they were loaded with stone and sunk, effectually blocking the entrance.
The payment of bounties in the county was liberal in the extreme and continued from early in the war until near the close. Legislation was promptly enacted at various times, enabling cities and towns to raise money for this purpose, and to aid the families of soldiers in the field.
The news of Lee's surrender reached this county early in the morn- ing of April 10, 1865, and the event was celebrated in cities and vil- lages by ringing of bells, firing of guns aud other demonstrations of joy. But this general feeling of joy was soon turned to sadness by the news of the assassination of the nation's ruler, which reached the com- munity early on April 15. Public meetings and services partaking of a religious character were held in many churches and resolutions ex- pressive of the deep sorrow felt were adopted.
The most important event that has taken place in Bristol county since the close of the Civil war was, perhaps, the formation of the town of North Attleborough-the last town to be erected in the county. The large size of the original town of Attleborough, the existence of the two thriving villages of Attleborough and North Attleborough, and the magnitude of the manufacturing interests of the town, were the principal causes of the division. The act authorizing the division was passed June 14, 1887, and was accepted by the inhabitants of the town on July 30 of the same year. The first town meeting was held under a warrant dated August 13, 1887, and William Henry Kling was chosen moderator, and Patrick F. Grady, clerk pro tem. The following offi- cers were then elected: Charles T. Guild, town clerk; Arthur E. Cod- ding, treasurer; Charles T. Guild, Stephen Stanley and Gamaliel B. Draper, selectmen; E. Carlisle Brown, Stephen Stanley and Gamaliel B. Draper, overseers of the poor; Dr. H. C. Bullard, Dr. James R. Foster, Dr. Thomas P. McDonough, board of health; James W. Riley, George F. Stone, Eben L. Sylvester, Edward C. Knapp, Christopher Dobra, constables; Henry S. Kilby, Thomas P. McDonough, Harvey Clap, school committee; Theron I. Smith, James A. Codding, Joseph G. Barden, sinking fund commissioners; George W. Cheever, Patrick
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FROM 1860 TO 1898.
F. Grady, William H. Kling, auditors; Charles T. Guild, collector, and other minor officers.
A committee of eight persons was appointed to prepare a code of by- laws, and the treasurer was authorized to make a temporary loan in anticipation of the tax for the year. J. G. Barden, John T. Joyce and Otis Sadler were appointed a committee to consider the feasibility of purchasing a poor farm; the number of votes polled was four hundred and forty-one. At a later date this matter was placed in the hands of a committee of fifteen.
The date for the annual town meetings was fixed for the second Mon- day in March and the beginning of the financial year on February 1. At the annual meeting for 1888 the Selectmen were authorized to con- tract with the North Attleborough Steam and Electric Light Company for public lighting for three years; the school commissioners were authorized to supply a school superintendent, and the appropriations for educational purposes included $1,700 for general expenses, $1,100 for text books and supplies, $700 for incidentals, $500 for repairs, and $1,500 for the superintendent's salary. Other appropriations were $3,800 for the poor; $4,000 for highways and bridges; $5,000 for cur- rent and incidental expenses; $4,000 for street lighting; $1,000 for grading and curbing sidewalks; $800 for the library ; $6,000 for the re. duction of the public debt, and other minor expenses.
As a result of the before mentioned action in relation to a poor farm, a purchase was made and in 1889 a committee of five was appointed to act as a building commission for an almshouse, to report on plans, cost, etc., at a future meeting; this committee were J. G. Barden, C. T. Guild, Stephen Stanley, B. Porter, jr., and Ebenezer French. The plans reported for the poorhouse called for a building with a central part 33 by 39 feet; wings 24 by 2612 feet; to be built of wood at a cost of about $10,000. The site selected is an elevation about three fourths of a mile east of the village.
The total appropriations for the year 1888 were $51,440, of which $15,600 was for the schools. The school system of North Attleborough village and at the Falls is practically one, and is under charge of the North Attleborough school superintendent. In 1890 the appropriation for educational purposes amounted to $18,400. In 1892 a school build- ing was erected on Mt. Hope street, under the direction of a committee consisting of T. I. Smith, Stephen Stanley, Thomas Fox, W. H. San- derson, James A. Codding; for this building an appropriation of $15,-
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
000 was made in October, 1891. School appropriation for 1897 was a little more than $20,000.
On June 30, 1891, it was voted that the village should establish mu- nicipal electric lighting and power. It was also voted that the town purchase the franchise and property of the North Attleborough Fire District; the waterworks at the cost of construction and the real estate at $6,500. The North Attleborough Fire District No 1 was a corpora- tion formed in 1871, before the division of the town, and in 1884 estab- lished and owned the waterworks. This Fire District was constituted of school districts Nos. 1 and 4 of Attleborough, and was organized under the statutes by J. D. Richards, F. G. Whitney, Charles E. Smith, W. D. Whiting, Henry Rice, S. Bowen, S. Richardson, H. F. Barrows, O. M. Draper, Arthur Codding, jr., and E. Ira Richards. At the time of organization the facilities for fire protection were in charge of a chief engineer, four assistants, five engine men, twenty five hosemen, twenty hook and ladder men. The first meeting of the district was held Oc- tober 14, 1871. When it became desirable that the town should con- trol these matters, a committee was chosen from the Fire District, July 28, 1892, and given power to sell all the rights and property of the dis- trict to the town for $216,662,48, made up of the following assets: Property-Cost of construction, $145, 697, 17 ; tools, fixtures and supplies, $1,692.12; sinking fund, $30,873.19. Total appraisal, $179,962.48. Real and personal, $18,000; tax 1892 and uncollected tax, $17,500; cash, $1,200. Total assets, $216,662.48. This proposal was accepted by the town authorities and the purchase was made. By a vote of April 16, 1892, an addition was made to the waterworks building for a lighting plant, and in that year the sum of $38,300 was appropriated to extend the water system through Attleborough Falls and Robinson- ville. In the same year an appropriation of $52,000 was made for the purchase of the water works, and a loan, called the North Attleborough Water Loan, was obtained to the amount of $50,000 on four per cent. bonds. In 1893 an additional pump was installed at a cost of $6,000. In 1893 the water works construction fund was $145,697.17; tools, fix- tures, etc., $1,692.12; sinking fund, $30,873.19. The total valuation of the Fire District property was $216, 662.48. In that year $50,000 in four per cent. bonds were issued as the North Attleborough Electric Light Loan, and a municipal light board was chosen in 1894. In the latter year an expert engineer was employed to make plans for a sewer system for the place. By the year 1895 the municipal electric light
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FROM 1860 TO 1898.
plant was in operation and in that year about $9,000 was appropriated for its maintenance.
What was known as Union Improvement District, in North Attle- borough, was established in 1875; its main purposes were to have charge of a public library, and through the union of school districts Nos. 1 and 4 as such Improvement District, to erect and maintain street lamps, establish and maintain libraries, build sidewalks, employ watchmen and police, etc. For many years this organization was a source of great benefit to the town. After the division was made all the rights and property of the district were transferred to the new town.
The North Attleborough Fire Department, as at present organized, dates from 1891. The large extension of the water system rendered it possible to depend almost wholly upon hose companies and hook and ladder companies for protection from fire. The department now con- sists of a chief engineer, two assistant engineers, forty-one firemen, and three permanent drivers, with two stations, and a fire alarm telegraph. There are one hundred and fifty-eight hydrants in use by the water de- partment, which are used in case of fire by two hose companies and two hook and ladder companies.
North Attleborough is now fortunate in the possession of a perma- nent home for its library through the generosity of Edmund Ira Rich- ards and wife. This handsome brick structure was dedicated on the 20th of September, 1895, on which occasion Hon. John D. Long deliv- ered an appropriate oration. The building was opened for the issue of books on the 22d. The library is maintained by the village government at a cost of $2,000 annually.
The parks of North Attleborough are the result of liberality and enter- prise during the past fifteen years. In 1883 the old burial ground near the railroad station on Washington street had fallen into neglect and the bodies therein were removed to Mt. Hope Cemetery. The cost of this work was about $900, of which the Richards Brothers subscribed $100 and H. F. Barrows the remainder. It was proposed to use the vacant land for school purposes, but this plan was abandoned and it lay idle until 1894. In that year H. F. Barrows agreed to give the town $1,000 on condition that the town accept the so-called Park Act and apply the money to the improvement of this tract as a part of a park system of the town. This generous offer was at once accepted and a board of park commissioners appointed. The tract was improved in various ways and was given the name of Barrows Park.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
In 1885, by a bequest of R. F. Simmons, the town came into posses- sion of $3,000 on condition that it " lay out, grade and curb " a certain piece of land known as Simmons Park, the work to be done under superintendence of J. Nisbet, of Pawtucket, R. I. A quit-claim deed of the land was obtained from the original owners, and the work of improvement of the park began. The grade was suitably established, trees were planted and walks constructed during that year and further improvements have since been made.
At the annual town meeting of 1895 the school committee of this town submitted statistics showing the need of additional accommoda- tions for scholars, particularly for the north part. A committee was appointed to investigate the matter, and at a town meeting held July 8 the committee reported recommending the erection of a new six room building. Thereupon the town voted to appropriate $25,000 for a new building and a site was chosen and purchased. The committee were C. S. Brewster, Stephen Stanley, W. H. Kling, Frank E. Horton and Dr. T. P. McDonough. Plans were procured for the structure, con- tracts were let for heating and ventilation, an architect employed and preparations made for erecting the building. At this juncture the committee felt that they needed $3,500 more for the proper completion of the building and so reported at a town meeting. A vote was taken by which the town refused to appropriate more funds, and the com- mittee was discharged, after having expended about $7,000. Under these conditions the school committee was compelled to hire a room for the Seventh grade in the Bank Street school, and another for the overflow of the Third grade, Bank street, so that the schools could be opened in September, 1896.
There are now in the town one high school, five grammar schools, grades 7-9; nine intermediate schools, grades, 4-6; twelve primary schools, grades 1-3; and five mixed schools, making a total of thirty- two. There are twelve school buildings.
The village of North Attleborough is an active and thriving manu. facturing and trade center, a large part of the jewelry manufacturers having been noticed in the preceding pages of Attleborough history. The village has two banks: The Attleborough Savings Bank, incorpo- rated in 1860. It is under the management of a board of seventeen trustees and has deposits of about one and a quarter million dollars; undivided profits $100,000. The present president is Abiel Codding ; vice-president, George A. Dean; treasurer, Edward R. Price. North
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Aliet CCadding
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FROM 1860 TO 1898.
Attleborough National Bank was incorporated in 1885 with a capital stock of $150,000 and succeeded to the business of the old Attleborough National Bank. The bank opened for business in August, 1885, with H. F. Barrows, president, and E. R. Price, cashier.
The North Attleborough Evening Chronicle was established as a weekly newspaper in 1870 and has passed through several changes in management. A daily edition was subsequently started, which is proving successful under the present proprietorship of H. D. Hunt. .
There are in the town of North Attleborough nine churches, a part of which have been noticed in preceding Attleborough history; others are the old North Baptist Church, organized in 1769, although its existence as a congregation is traceable back to 1747. It was for many years of the Congregational order. Rev. Nathaniel Shepard was the first pastor. In 1769 it began under Baptist faith, The first meeting- house was finished in 1784. The present edifice was erected in 1816.
The Free Evangelical Church was organized in April, 1858. A suit- able church was built in 1873-4. The First Congregational Church, at Oldtown is the oldest religious organization in the town, dating back to the original settlement, as elsewhere noticed. The Trinity Congrega- tional Church was organized in 1891 and the edifice was completed in 1895. St. Mary's Catholic Church was organized in 1850 at Attlebor- borough Falls, and the society subsequently removed to North Attle- borough, where it has since been maintained. The Central Congrega- tional Church is situated at Attleborough Falls and was organized May 5, 1874. Grace Episcopal Church in North Attleborough village was organized March 30, 1859. The First Universalist Church was organ- ized in 1818. The first edifice was built at Oldtown; the present one in 1841. There are in this village nearly thirty jewelry manufacturers and several other industries of considerable importance.
Attleborough Falls is practically a suburb of North Attleborough. It has a post-office, a church, and a few general stores. It is on the electric railway from Attleborough to Plainville and is a station on the Walpole and Wrentham branch of the Old Colony Railroad. Here is situated the Daggett Braid Factory, established by Handel N. Daggett early in the century, and now under management of the Gold Medal Company.
Adamsdale is a hamlet in the extreme southwest part of the town, near Abbott's Run, where are located a church, a school house, and near by a station on the railroad. The place was formerly called 23
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Lanesville, and takes its present name from an Adams family. John F. Adams now operates a cotton yarn mill here.
Oldtown, known in former years as The City, is in the southwest part of the town, and has a church, a school house and a few residences.
The agricultural interests of the town are not extensive, and are de - clining. In the southern part of the town are the grounds of the At- tleboroughs' Agricultural Association, formerly the Farmers' and Me- chanics' Association, which was organized in 1869, and soon thereafter erected an exhibition building. Improvements have since been made in various directions and the grounds and track are now among the best in this section. Annual fairs are held with success.
There has been very little change in the town of Swansea since the close of the war, and the present conditions in the town are shown in the later Gazetteer. Swansea village has a newspaper, the Swansea Record, which is one of the five papers published in this county, all containing the same general matter, with change of local news and heading. The Record was started by Samuel E. Fiske in 1885, and the local editor was Jeremiah Gray, until his recent decease, when he was succeeded by Thomas S. Weeks.
The beautiful new stone town hall, the gift of Frank Shaw Stevens,1 was dedicated with interesting ceremonies on September 9, 1891. Job Gardner acted as president of the day, and John S. Brayton, of Fall River, was the orator. Other speakers were Maj. James Brown, Jona- than M. Wood, Edwin L. Barney. The deed conveying this property to the town contained the following clause :
This conveyance is made upon the express and precedent conditions that the building which said Frank S. Stevens is erecting or has erected upon said land for a Town Hall and Public Library, and which is conveyed by him as a free gift to said Town as part of the premises included in this conveyance, shall be devoted to public purposes and forever used as a Town Hall and Public Library by the inhabitants of the said Swansey, etc.
The building is constructed of rough field stones, taken from the farms of Mr. Stevens, and is situated nearly opposite the former resi- dence of the donor. It is admirably adapted for its purposes.
Rehoboth, one of the towns that was in existence when Bristol county was erected, and the second town formed in the colony, the
1 Mr. Stevens has since died, and in his will bequeathed $10,000 with which to build a library building, on land donated by Mr. Stevens's wife, near the town hall. Mr. Stevens left, also $20,000 for the erection of an Episcopal church on the site of the present one, A biographic sketch of Mr. Stevens is printed in Part III of this volume.
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FROM 1860 TO 1898.
date being 1644, celebrated its 250th anniversary in 1894. At the annual meeting of the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society, held in March of that year, Esek H. Pierce, one of the trustees of the society, made a motion that this celebration should take place. A committee was thereupon chosen, consisting of Esek H. Pierce, Nathaniel B. Horton, George N. Goff, William W. Blanding, Reuben Bowen and John C. Marvel to take such further action as seemed advisable. A meeting of the stockholders of the society was held in July, when it was voted to hold the celebration and $200 was voted for the purpose. A commit- tee was appointed to carry out the celebration, consisting of Esek H. Pierce, Nathaniel B. Horton, Edgar Perry, George N. Goff, William W. Blanding, Gustavus B. Peck and Elisha Davis. The day set for the event was October 3, 1894, and it passed off in a highly interesting and successful manner. The town entertained nearly 2,000 guests from throughout the county and many from beyond its limits. Edgar D. Perry, of Boston, secretary of the committee of arrangements, delivered a very interesting address of welcome, and was followed by an address from Thomas W. Bicknell, in recognition of the various towns that have sprung from old Rehoboth. Edwin L. Barney, of New Bedford, then delivered a historical address, and Thomas W. Bicknell read an original poem. Other speakers were Chief Justice Albert Mason, John W. Davis and others.
The name of Darius N. Goff has been mentioned in connection with the manufactures of Rehoboth, from which was developed the great worsted braid works of D. Goff & Sons, whose product is known throughout the world. In the later years of his life Mr. Goff also estab- lished the weaving of mohair plush in this country, previous to which it had all been imported. The business of the Goffs was removed to Pawtucket in 1846, and there continues. Mr. Goff died at his home in Pawtucket, R. I., April 14, 1891, closing a life of great and successful activity. In expression of his affection for the place of his birth Mr. Goff, in 1884, purchased and gave to the town of Rehoboth the site for a Memorial Hall, on the homestead estate which had been in the family since 1714. Under his auspices and with liberal aid from the people of the town, a handsome edifice was erected at a cost of $14,000 on the immediate site of the old Goff inn. The building was begun in 1884 and was dedicated as the Goff Memorial Hall on May 18, 1885. The farm now in possession of George N. Goff, which is the old homestead, has never been deeded since 1716.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Rehoboth has a newspaper, the Rehoboth Sentinel, which is one of five started by Samuel E. Fiske in this county, all of which contain the usual general matter, with local news and change of heading for the several towns where the papers are located.
Two churches were organized in Dighton after the close of the war of the Rebellion. One of these was the Second Methodist Society at Dighton Four Corners, which was formed in 1866. James A. Dean was engaged to preach at that time in a school house, and the building then known as Dighton Academy was purchased by a stock company and remodeled into a church. The formal organization of the church took place on May 13 of the year named, with a membership of twenty- three. The society is still in existence.
The Universalist Church, which began its existence at Dighton many years ago, flourished a number of years, and among its prominent members were Anthony Reed, Joseph Pitts, Capt. William Cobb, and his two brothers, Capts. George and Benjamin Cobb, Maj. Charles Whitmarsh, Bradford Pratt and W. B. Whitmarsh. The society fell into decline and the chapel which had been built was sold and converted into what was pretentiously called the Dighton Academy. This insti- tution soon failed and the building was sold to the Methodist society, as above stated.1
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