USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Reminiscences of Worcester from the earliest period, historical and genealogical with notices of early settlers and prominent citizens, and descriptions of old landmarks and ancient dwellings, accompanied by a map and numerous illustrations > Part 25
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On the site of Brinley Block was the Nathaniel Maccarty house, a very ancient structure, since removed to the corner of John and North Ashland streets. Next south came the old " King's Arms" tavern, and the residence of Hon. Joseph Allen, which latter was built by Col. Daniel Clapp as early as 1790, and sold by him to Mr. Allen about 1798, Col. Clapp then removing to the residence he afterwards occupied till his de- cease in 1827, (on the corner of Main and Park streets,) subse- quently owned and occupied by Hon. Charles Allen.
The large square dwelling house, now on the north corner of Main and Myrtle streets, formerly stood on the site of Butman Block, and was the residence of Hon. Joseph Allen, from 1798. (when he removed from the north corner of Main and School streets,) until his death, Sept. 2, 1827.
The dwelling now owned and occupied by Willard F. Pond on Providence street, which formerly stood just south of Mr. Allen's, where Pearl street is, was the residence, until his de- cease in 1828, of John Miller, father of Henry W. Miller.
Between the Joseph Allen and John Miller estates and Pleasant street was the extensive estate of Judge Nathaniel Paine, who had about 150 acres of landing extending west over the hill. (See page 89.)
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The late Stephen Goddard, carriage-trimmeer, and his broth er, Benj. Goddard, carriage-maker, came to Worcester, about 1806, from Cambridge, being among the earliest to carry on those departments of business here, which they did in connec- tion for many years. They were sons of Stephen Goddard, and grandsons of John Goddard, who owned and resided where the Bunker Hill monument is in Charlestown. Benjamin God- dard, when he came here, purchased the estate of John Farrar, on the north side of Pleasant street, who kept store in the old " Compound" building. Farrar's estate comprised several acres of land in the vicinity of what is now Chestnut street, the only house thereon being the ancient dwelling last oc- cupied by Jeremiah Stiles, (grandfather of the present Maj. F. G. Stiles.) Benjamin Goddard resided and carried on busi- ness on this spot many years, his shop being in connection with his house. He built the two houses, next east of that in which he first lived, originally for a shop, one of which he sold to Mrs. Sewall Hamilton, and the other to Capt. Erastus Tuck- er. After disposing of the old dwelling (afterwards owned and occupied by Jeremiah Stiles) to Samuel Allen, senior, county treasurer, the land including the site of the present re- sidence of Horatio N. Tower, Mr. Goddard removed his re- sidence and business to Exchange street, and subsequently else- where. He was probably the first regular carriage manufact- urer in Worcester, or the first to make a specality of the busi- ness, the next after him being Osgood Bradley and Albert Tol- man.
Stephen Goddard built about 1806 or 1807 the house (for many years past known as the " Farmer's Hotel" on Mechanic street,) which stood originally on the site of " Union Block" on Main street, just south of Mechanics' Hall, and was owned and occupied by Dea. James Wilson, postmaster from 1801 to 1833. After selling this estate to Dea. Wilson about 1810, Ste- phen Goddard built on the site of " Waldo Block," just north of the old Central Hotel, his house and shop being afterwards removed to give way to the present brick structure on their site.
On the south corner of Main and Austin streets was the re- sidence, three quarters of a century ago, of Alpheus Eaton, the
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principal shoe-maker of that period in the town. After his decease in 1832, the estate was purchased by William Stowell, who erected the present building upon its site, where he resided until his decease, Aug. 27, 1853.
On the south corner of Main and May streets is an ancient dwelling, at least one hundred years old, the original farm- house of the Chandler-Ward-Jaques-Allen estate, which was removed from its original location upon the Ethan Allen estate in 1832 by William Stowell, building mover, who occupied it for a few years upon its present site before he purchased the Alpheus Eaton estate on the corner of Main and Austin streets.
On Ripley street, leading east from Main street, on the site of the residence of the late John C. Ripley, was the dwelling, early as 1760, of Ebenezer Wiswall ; after him of his son, Ebenezer Wiswall, Jr. ; of the latter's son, A. C. Wiswall ; and next, of Ebenezer Collier, the last owner and occupant before Mr. Rip- ley.
The ancient dwelling on the west side of Main street, nearly opposite the preceding, owned and occupied from 1786 to 1854 by Abel Heywood and his son, the late Henry Heywood, was originally the residence of Zebadiah Rice, son of James Rice, one of the earliest settlers in the town. James Rice was a brother of Jonas, and settled near him. Nathan Patch sold the Zebadiah Rice estate to Abel Heywood in 1786.
The old Dea. David Richards dwelling, on the east side of Main street; before reaching New Worcester, occupies the site of a former dwelling on this estate, owned by the Chandlers before the revolution. Simon S. Gates owned and occupied this estate after Dea. Richards.
On the west side of Main street, just before descending the hill to New Worcester, is an ancient one-story dwelling, which was the residence of Ebenezer Whitney, (father-in-law of Wm. Hovey,) before he purchased his residence on Lincoln street, next north of the estate owned and occupied by Artemas Ward, register of deeds from 1821 to 1846.
On the site now occupied by the City Hall stood previous to 1824, an old wooden building, in the first story of which a store had for many years been kept successively by Dea.
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James Wilson, Reuben Munroe and others, and in the sec- ond story, entered by a flight of stairs from the outside therc had for many years been a printing office, where the old National Ægis was first printed. To make way for the new structure, this old building, fronting Main street, was removed to Front street, nearly opposite to its former location, and there occupied for stores, etc., until it was torn down in 1854 to make way for a theatre building then erected upon its site by Win. Piper.
Reuben Monroe kept store in the above building for some twelve or fifteen years previous to his keeping the "Baird Tavern" on the old Grafton road. Among those who " tend- ed store" for Mr. Monroe while here, was our venerable fellow citizen, Benjamin Flagg. Mr. Monroe built, and re- sided in, at that time, the brick house on Front street, now occupied for stores by George Geer and others. He opened " Bigelow Court," about that time, east of his dwelling, in conjunction with Hon. Abijah Bigelow, whose estate adjoined him on the east.
At the time, above alluded to, Maj. Enoch Flagg resided in the large wooden dwelling now standing on the east side of Bridge street, between Mechanic and Front streets, which then stood on the corner of Front and Bridge streets, it be- ing afterwards owned and occupied by Capt. Silas Bailey.
Thompson Kimberly, one of the prominent members of the First Baptist Church at its organization in 1812, resided in the old dwelling on the east side of Church street, after- wards owned and occupied by Maj. Gardner Paine, until the latter removed to his last residence still occupied by his family on the corner of Elm and West streets. Mr. Kim- berly had a tailor shop in the old "Compound" building, corner of Main and Front streets.
Richard Mills built, nearly sixty years ago, the brick building on the corner of Mechanic and Church streets, af- terwards owned and occupied by Dea. Daniel Goddard, be- fore the latter removed to his present residence on High street.
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William Goulding, son of Ignatius Goulding, (see page 52,) resided in the old wooden building on the north side of Mechanic street, south of the "Farmer's Hotel," a wooden structure occupying the site of the brick building next cast was the residence of Capt. Thomas B. Eaton, the old sexton.
Hon. Abijah Bigelow, representative in Congress from the Worcester North district from 1810 to 1815, who soon after came to Worcester to become clerk of the courts, (see page 48,) resided first in the house previously owned and occupied by Rev. Dr. Austin, and afterwards by John W. Hubbard and Samuel H. Colton, on the site of Dr. Emerson Warner's block, near the north corner of Main and Austin streets. Mr. Bigelow moved next into the old Sheriff Gardner Chandler mansion, af- terwards owned and occupied by Judge Barton, (see pages 21 and 74,) that estate about that time being purchased by Dea. Benjamin Butman, Mr. Bigelow having the previous offer of this estate, comprising thirty-one acres of land for the sum of $9,000, but he thought it rather high. After living here a year or two, Mr. Bigelow resided a short time in the mansion owned and occupied for the last thirty years by Osgood Bradley. Mr. Bigelow then purchased of Capt. Azor Phelps the estate on the west corner of Front and Church streets, comprising about an acre and a half of land, for $3300. This included the original Daniel Goulding dwelling, (alluded to on page 49,) where Mr. Bigelow resided until his decease in 1860. He was offered one dollar per foot for 47,000 feet of this land in 1851.
The mansion above alluded to, now of Osgood Bradley, was built by William Hovey, one of the most enterprising business men of Worcester, half a century ago, a mill right by trade, and a man of remarkable mechanical ability, who came to Worcester from Connecticut about 1811, and built the first dam and a large factory at South Worcester for the manufact- ure of woolen machinery, on land he purchased of Israel Whit- ney, son of Capt. Joshua Whitney, near what was afterwards known as the " Whitney canal lock." He resided in a tene- ment in one end of his factory building until he built about 1818, the Bradley house, which was then considered one of the most elegant and costly dwellings in the town. It was while
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Mr. Hovey lived in this house on Front street, that the late Dea. Ichabod Washburn, who then first came to Worcester, and worked for Mr. Hovey, boarded with him, about 1818 or 1819, previous to Dea. Washburn's going into business on his own account, culminating in such wonderful success. Mr. Hovey about 1822 sold out his South Worcester factory to the late Wm. B. Fox, who began there his first manufacturing in Wor- cester, afterwards carried on with so much success at the foot of Green street. More will be said, at auother time, of the manufacturing enterprises of Messrs. Hovey, Fox, Washburn and others. Mr. Hovey moved from his front street residence to occupy the brick hotel building he erected about that time, called the " United States Hotel." Previous to Mr. Bradley's purchasing his present dwelling, in 1845, it had been the ro- sidence, for many years, of Hon. Rejoice Newton.
The brick building above alluded to, built by Reuben Mon- roe, corner of Front street and Bigelow Court, was afterwards owned and occupied by Joseph T. Turner, and subsequently owned by Daniel Denny, (son of the Daniel Denny alluded to on page 253,) who sold the estate in 1846 to Luke Jones. Austin Denny fifty years ago owned and occupied the estate next west, on Front street, where Leland's block now is, and then came the Dr. Chapin estate, on the site Wmn. Bush has occupied for twenty-five years.
Notices of various other old structures in different sections of the city, are given in connection with notices of the persons residing in or occupying them.
34
HOTELS, POST OFFICE, TOWN HALL.
CHAPTER XVII.
HOTELS.
The spot where a hotel has been longest kept in Worcester, is the site of the Bay State House, where there has been a house of public entertainment ever since the organization of the town, a period of 155 years. (See page 30.) On the site of the Lincoln House, a hotel was kept by Thomas Stearns and his wife Mary Stearns for fifty-two years from about 1732 to 1784, (see page 58.) In 1835, the Lincoln mansion, occupy- ing nearly the site of the former or " King's Arms" structure, was converted into a hotel by David T. Brigham, and a public house has been kept there ever since, a period of forty-two years, making ninety-four years in all. On the site of Wm. C. Clark's block, a hotel was kept for over ninety years of the 132 years from 1722 to 1854. (see page 20.) The old " Exchange Hotel" building, corner of Main and Market streets, occupied for a public house since 1785, makes the third place where a hotel has been kept on the same spot for over ninety years. At the old Jones' tavern mansion, still standing, beyond New Worcester, on the corner of Leicester and Apricot streets, a hotel was kept by father, son and grandson, Noah, Phinelas and John Jones, successively, for seventy-five years from 1760 to about 1835. In Tatnuck, near the corner of Pleasant and Mower streets, a hotel was kept by father, son and grand- son, Abel, Joseph and Lewis Holbrook, from about 1775 to 1823, at which latter date Lewis Holbrook's son-in-law, the present Benjamin Flagg, now in his 88th year, purchased the estate and kept a hotel in the same building, (now owned and occupied by Mr. Flagg's son-in-law, Geo. S. Newton.) Mr.
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Flagg relinquished the hotel business about 1830, when Archi- bald Willard opened a hotel a little east of Mr. Flagg's re- sidence on the north side of the road, and kept it until his de- cease, Oct. 9, 1848, and after him it was kept by James Snow and a Mr. Willington.
Daniel Baird kept a hotel from about 1785 until his decease Dec. 9, 1819, on what used to be known as the " Baird Place" on the Grafton road, on the corner of Grafton and Harrington streets. He was succeeded by Reuben Monroe who continued the hotel there for many years.
Samuel Harrington had a hotel from about 1795 until his decease, March 27, 1838, aged 84, on the old Grafton road (now Harrington street ) near Grafton line.
Thomas Knight had for many years subsequent to 1775 a hotel on the north side of Lincoln street, east of Adams Square, for many years past owned and occupied by Joseph E. Bond.
On the east side of Lincoln street, just south of Adams Square, Lydia Chadwick kept a hotel for many years, subsequent to 1797, in the large dwelling afterwards owned and occupied by Josiah Brittan.
Samuel Banister, who succeeded Cyrus Stockwell as inn- holder at the old " Central Hotel" in 1828, and who subsequent- ly succeeded Capt. Joseph Lovell as keeper of the hotel then kept on the north corner of Main and Thomas streets, after- wards kept a hotel called the "Summer street House," in the building first used by the second parish (Unitarian society ) for their place of worship, subsequently converted into a school- house.
Between fifty and sixty years ago, a hotel un ler the name of the " Cow Tavern," was kept on the estate now of Francis P. Stowell, on the corner of Salisbury and Forest streets, by Capt. Leonard Clark and others. Capt. Clark had previously kept a hotel on the west side of Burncoat street, opposite Adams Square. He was father of Wmn. L. Clark, city assessor.
A hotel was also kept for many years, within the last century, at the " Five Points," so called, near what is now the " Summit" station on the Worcester and Nashua railroad, by Col. George Moore, and his son, Luther G. Moore.
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Reminiscences of Worcester.
Daniel Chadwick, near the beginning of the present century, had a hotel on West Boylston street, just south of Northville, in the large house on what has since been known as the " Brig- ham" estate.
Asa Hamilton, (father of Capt. Charles A. Hamilton, ) kept a hotel between 1794 and 1800 in the "Solomon Parsons house," on Apricot street, a little west of the old Jones tavern. Apricot street was a part of the oldest traveled thoroughfare and stage route between Boston and New York, through Wor- cester.
For a notice of John Curtis' hotel on Lincoln street between 1754 and 1774, see page 34; of Samuel Jennison's tavern a little cast of it from 1782 to 1815, see page 58; of the old " Hancock Arms" and " Brown and Butman" tavern on Lin- coln street, see page 39 ; of the " Deland tavern" at New Wor- cester, kept from 1812 to about 1850, successively by Charles Stearns, Uriah Stone, Joseph Curtis, and C. M. Deland, see page 39 ; of the Nathaniel Eaton tavern on Front street, kept from 1817 to 1847 by Nathaniel Eaton, Wm. Chamberlain, Aaron Howe, John Bradley and Hiram Billings, see page 50 ; the tavern kept by the tory Wm. Jones, from 1770 till his death, April 6, 1777, aged 73, on the site of Sargent's block, corner of Main and Southbridge streets, see page 36; Harmon Cham- berlin kept the jail tavern at Lincoln Square from 1822 to 1824, after Gen. Heard and Asahel Bellows ; then the old " Bigelow tavern," corner of Mountain and Nixon streets, from 1824 to 1826, (see page 44); and then the "Lincoln Square Hotel," (see page 256.) Wm. Harrington kept on Park street, (see page 54.)
THE OLD " CENTRAL HOTEL. "
The ancient three-story structure, now standing on the south- east corner of Salem and Madison streets, (see page 30,) has a history carrying the original part of it, built by the first Dan- iel Heywood, to the first organization of the town. The three Daniel Heywoods, father, son and grandson successively kept a hotel in the original part of this building, while it stood on its original site, where the Bay State House now is, for nearly nine- ty years, from 1722 to the deccase of the third Daniel Hey-
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wood, Dec. 15, 1809, aged 55. The estate was soon after pur- chased by Reuben Wheeler, who added thirty feet front by sixty deep to the north side for a hall, making the whole building about 75 feet front by 60 deep. The hall occupied the two up- per stories of the north side addition, and the dining hall was in the first story. The office was in the south-west corner, and the ladies' entrance in the middle of the Main street front. This hall, after it was built, was the largest hall in the town until Brinley Hall was built in 1836. The meetings of the Agricultural society, Fourth of July celebrations and other festivals of the town, took place in it for a long series of years. Samuel Hathaway purchased the estate of Mr. Wheeler about 1816. Cyrus Stockwell became owner of the property about 1824, and put on the piazza at the south-west corner entrance. He subsequently added a third story, increasing the accommo- dations 40 rooms, and a two-story piazza at the front entrance. He kept the hotel a few years, and then leased it to Samnel Banister. Mr. Stockwell, (who was father of Hon. Stephen N. Stockwell of the BOSTON JOURNAL,) sold the real estate about 1833 to Gen. Nathan Heard and Hon. Isaac Davis, in whose hands the ownership remained until it was purchased by the " Bay State House" Corporation in 1854, for the erection upon the site of the old structure of the building since known through- out the country as one of the largest and most popular hotels in the central section of New England. After Samuel Banister left it, about 1833, the Old " Central Hotel," the name given to it about this time, was kept successively by Z. and D. Bonney, Cyrus Stockwell, Luke Williams, Wood & Fisher, T. E. Wood, Elias T. Balcom, Clifford & Swan, and Warner Clifford, to the year 1854, when it was removed. The elegant " Bay State House" was opened upon the same site in 1857 with Warner Clifford as landlord, succeeded by Maj. Church Howe, Linsley & Randall, Hatch & Wilcox, Horace Barnes, Charles B. Pratt, and Pond & Shepard to the present time.
Among the best remembered of the many interesting reminis- cences of the old " Central Hotel," are those connected with the fact, that it was the head quarters, from 1830 to 1846, of the most distinguished stage proprietor and manager of that
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Reminiscences of Worcester.
period, the Hon. Ginery Twichell, who has been successively post rider, stage driver, the most noted express rider of his time, stage proprietor, railroad superintendent, president of the Boston and Worcester railroad corporation and representative in Congress-and is now president of the Boston, Barre and Gardner railroad corporation.
THE OLD " EAGLE HOTEL."
One of the earliest brick buildings in Worcester is that on the north corner of Main and Thomas streets, built by Elna- than Pratt. (father of John B. Pratt.) who had his residence and store in it for many years. A hotel was afterwards kept there for about thirty years, under different names, as " Eagle Hotel," "Fessenden's Hotel," and then " Worcester Temperance House," and "Franklin House." This hotel was kept successively, from about 1826, by Capt. Joseph Lovell, Samuel Banister, Eleazer Porter, Col. Warner Hinds, David Bonney, J. Fessenden, Gen. George Hobbs, J. E. Wood, S. W. Steele till about 1866, since which time the main part of it has been occupied by Howe, Bigelow & Co., wire-workers who purchased the real estate of Gen. Hobbs, the latter having bought it of the Pratt heirs in 1837.
This building was erected in 1806. John Milton Earle and Anthony Chase kept store in it a few years, both before and after keeping on the site of Paine Block, (see page 260.)
THE WALDO HOUSE.
At the Waldo House, on Waldo street, the original portion of which, while on its former location on the site of Mechanics' Hall, was the residence of Hon. Daniel Waldo from 1828 to his death in 1845, a hotel has been kept from Jan. 28, 1856, to June 6, 1856, by Russell Lamb; to 1860 by R. N. Start ; to 1863 by Thomas Tucker & Co. ; to 1866 by R. N. Start ; nine months to Jan. 1, 1867, by Warner Clifford ; ten years to Jan. 1, 1877, by R. N. Start ; from the latter date by L. B. Start. The fourth story was added to the main part in 1865, and the five-story addition made to the rear in 1872.
WHITEMORE
Mansion of Hon. Levi Lincoln, on Main Street, in 1824.
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Reminiscences of Worcester.
THE LINCOLN HOUSE.
The accompanying engraving of the Lincoln Mansion, on Main street, done expressly for this work, represents that dis- tinguished seat of official hospitality in the past, as it ap- peared at the reception of Lafayette, in 1824, and while it was the residence of the late Gov. Levi Lincoln, a period of nearly twenty five years, from the time of its erection by him in 1811 or 1812, until 1835, when he built his last mansion upon Elm street, now owned and occupied by his son, Hon. Daniel Waldo Lincoln. This covered the period when he was governor, from 1825 to 1834, after which he was eight years representative in Congress, and then collector of the port of Boston, among his other high official positions. While Gov. Lincoln occupied his Main street residence, it was the seat of generous hospitality to many of the most distinguished men in the country, including Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, Edward Everett, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, Sam'l L. Southard of New Jersey, and other statesmen from different sections of the Union. On such occasions as that which marked the " national republican convention,"* held in the Old South Church, Oct. 11 and 12, 1832, when Henry Clay of Kentucky and John Sergeant of Pennsylvania were nominated for the presidency and vice- presidency, Gov. Lincoln was renominated the ninth time for governor, and Daniel Webster made one of his great speeches, the Lincoln Mansion was the recipient of the most distinguished persons present, as guests. Its ample, high studded parlors, and numerous suite of rooms, specially adapted it for public occasions, and no very great addition to it was necessary in or- der to convert it into a hotel, when the governor left it, and sold it, at the time of going into his new mansion upon the hill, which he occupied for a still longer period, some thirty- three years, until his decease, May 29, 1868.
Elm street was opened by Gov. Lincoln, when he began to build upon that street, about 1834. When his Main street
* This was before the organization of the " Whig" party so called, the political elements of which the latter was composed, having previously been designated more generally by the name of "national republican." Although this name was given to this convention, in the established report at the time, it was a regular State convention, and being presidential year, when a full set of pre- sidential electors, representative as well as senatorial, were chosen, national matters were discussed much more prominently than State issues.
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mansion was converted into a hotel by David T. Brigham in 1835, the latter constructed a semi-circular drive-way up to the front door, extending around the beautiful lawn in front of the house, from Elm to Maple streets, which latter street was opened at the same time.
A hotel was kept here, under the name of the " Worcester House," from 1835 to 1857, successively by David T. Brigham, Lysander C. Clark, Hiram and Gordon Gould, T. E. Wood, J. G. Fisher, J. W. Lane, Wm. F. Day, Col. Warner Hinds, Truesdell & Norris, Ebenezer Harrington, William Wells, Frank Green, Wm. E. Richardson, and A. W. Bugbee. The property, comprising about 33,000 square feet of land was purchased of Gov. Lincoln in December, 1843, by James H. Wall and the late Edward H. Hemenway for $14,000. They in 1844 erected a one-story building of seven stores on the park in front, leaving a drive-way in the rear around the front of the old mansion. In 1854, these one-story stores, or "tombs," as they were called, were removed, and the block, since known as " Lincoln House Block," 127 feet front and four stories high, was added to the front of the old structure, and the hotel from that time has been known as the "Lincoln House." Messrs. H. T. Bonney & Co. (Thomas Tucker and John G. Ball) suc- ceeded Mr. Bugbee as landlords in 1857, and they were suc- ceeded by James H. Wall, A. G. Williams, Elias T. Balcom, Mrs. Holden, George Tower, Wall & Williams, Wall & Balcom, Sumner W. Balcom, and George Tower again. Mr. Tower purchased the property of James H. Wall, April 1, 1877, and then began his present occupancy of the house, which has the reputation of being a first-class hotel in every respect.
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