USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America. > Part 34
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The Unitarian Society began its worship in the town hall on the first Sunday in August, 1865, the Rev. A. P. Putnam conducting the services. The preaching was supplied by various ministers until the coming of the Rev. Leonard J. Livermore, April 1, 1867. A chapel was subsequently built on High Street and dedicated in 1871. The cost of the building was $13,000, including its site. Mr. Livermore was formally settled as pastor in 1872. The number of families con- nected with this society is about tifty.
The Methodist Society began to hold its meetings in the summer of 1871 in Lincoln Hall, which had formerly been the school-house in Tapleyville. Its meeting-house was commenced the next year, and was dedicated in the spring of 1873. The entire cost of the building was about $15,000.
The Swedenborgians have held occasional meetings for several years. They began to be held with somewhat of regularity in
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December, 1869. at the house of Mrs. Mary Page; and in 1872 regular service was established at Bowditch Hall. There is no formal organization, but the services are conducted by the pastor of the New Jerusalem church in Salem.
The literary societies of Danvers form another of the distinctive features of this charming old New England town.
One of the earliest institutions of which there is mention, was the " Danvers Social Library," established about the year 1794. It was owned in shares, and the books were loaned to shareholders.
A library association, known as the Holten Circulating Library, was formed about the year 1836, and existed for five years.
The North Danvers Lyceum, a literary and library association, existed for some years prior to 1840.
Of the later associations, the Bowditch Club was formed in the fall of 1857 in the school-house at Putnamville. The first formal meeting was held Dec. 1, 1857. The membership of the club included both sexes, and its meetings were both entertaining and instructive. For many years, prior to the incorporation of the Peabody Institute, this club constituted itself the town's lyceum, and conducted some fine courses of lectures, for which the best talent iu the country was engaged.
A debating society, which had existed for several years at the Centre, under the name of the Holten Lyceum, was merged, in the fall of 1875, with a new organization under the title of the Wadsworth Association. The objects of the latter were similar to those of the Bowditch. The Danvers Shakespeare Club was organized in the winter of 1873-4. The Danvers Choral Society, a musical organ- ization, was formed in December, 1873.
CHAPTER IV.
BUSINESS AND MANUFACTURING INTERESTS - THE GROWTH OF THE TOWN - REPRESENTATIVE MEN - DANVERS TO - DAY.
Of the older mechanical industries of the town, the manufacture of iron at the Port, perhaps, takes precedence, from the fact that we are told, upon excellent authority, that even as far back as the days of the ancient " Orchard Farm," and the residence of the colonial governor at the New Mills, that Endicott himself speaks of his iron-works (vide Upham) ; and from that time to the present, with varying for- tunes, the manufacture of rolled iron has been prosecuted upon nearly the same spot.
Prior to the Revolution, the records tell us that the business of ship- building was a thriving industry at the New Mills, as has been pre- viously mentioned in this sketch. Without doubt, that was its halcyon period, for since that time it has steadily declined.
Tanning, and the manufacture of leather, stands next in point of age, although to-day this business is of minor importance. The with- drawal of the Sonth Parish took with it nearly all the leading firms engaged in this pursuit, and there are but very few remaining within the present limits of the town. Edward Southwick has the honor of being the first tanner of whom there is mention, and the founder of the business in Danvers. He carried on the manufacture of leather at the outset, after a very primitive fashion, - his first vats consisting of half hogsheads sunk in the ground. He died in 1771.
Danvers is one of the centres of the shoe trade in the county, and it has within its limits, very near to the old historic grounds of the First Parish, one of the most complete and admirably appointed shoe manufactories in this country, with a capacity for fifteen hundred pairs daily of women's and misses' pegged or sewed shoes, the average value of which is about two thousand dollars. The business has been, for a long period, the prominent industry of the town. Caleb Oakes and Moses Putnam were prominent among the early manufacturers. The
shoes produced were chiefly of a coarse grade, intended for the South- ern slaves. They were sent South in coasting vessels ; but during the war of 1812, this mode of conveyance being dangerous and imprac- ticable, the Danvers " Farmers " established means of communication by horse teams over the road. From about this period, the number of manufacturers in the town has averaged twenty or more ; and the average yearly value of the boots and shoes produced, from one-half a million to a million dollars. The early wholesale trade was confined at first to men's sewed slippers, which were packed in barrels, and sent on private venture by the captains of coasting vessels to Baltimore. As the trade increased, the class of work changed to that of pegged shoes.
In 1833, Dea. Samuel Preston, of the First Parish, invented the first pegging machine, for which he received a patent, dated March 8th, of that year, and signed by President Andrew Jackson. Mr. Preston still has the shoe from which he obtained this patent. This machine was arranged to put two rows of pegs npon each side of the shoe at the same time. Although not generally adopted, its principle is in- volved in all the machines of the present day. From the report of the Bureau of Statistics of Labor for 1875, there were in that year in Danvers twenty-five firms engaged in shoe manufacturing, producing goods of an annual average value of $1,331,548, upon a capital in- vested of $404,041.
In November, 1844, Gilbert Tapley and his brother Perley Tapley, established the present carpet manufacturing business at Tapleyville, near the ancient site of " Hadlock's Bridge." The goods produced were principally woollen ingrain carpetings. The first factory was built in 1844, and burned in June, 1845. It was rebulit in the same year, and is still in active operation.
Hanson's History of Danvers twice states the population in 1752, the date of its incorporation as a district, at 500, or about that num- ber. The Village Parish alone had that number seventy years before. There were more than three times as many. At the rate of increase from 1765 to 1776, the number for 1752 would be 1,968. It was probably less. There were 326 resident tax-payers. The ratio of five would give 1,630, which, as the list was made out, is not too high. The population in 1875 was 6,024. The present valuation of the town (1878) is $3,496,390, of which $2,363, 100 is in real estate, and $1,057,200 in personal estate.
Danvers may well be proud of her sons, and of her representative men, first and foremost of whom, the name of Samuel Holton shines with an undying lustre upon the page of her history. Samnel Holton was born June 9, 1738. He was a son of Samuel and Hannah Hol- ton, and a great-grandson of Joseph Holton. The house in which he was born, built by his grandfather Henry, and called the Holton Hotel, was situated at the south-west of the meeting-house, upon an old road, or at least a path, near the line of what is now Prince Street, leading from Centre Street to the Newburyport Railroad, and not far from the present site of Artemas Wilson's house. It was his parents' purpose that he should go to college ; and he spent four years in preparatory study, in the family of Peter Clark. At the age of twelve his health failed him, and the plan was given up. His hearing was permanently impaired, and he was never afterward strong. Recovering, in a measure, after a lapse of time, he went to study medicine with Dr. Jonathan Prince, a physician of note, who lived upon the southern slope of Hathorne Hill, near Newbury Street, at a spot now marked by a cluster of pines. Dr. Prince's house has been moved away from its original site, and is the one now occupied by John Hooksen. Young Holton made such rapid progress in the study of his chosen profession, that when he was eighteen years of age, Dr. Prince told him that he was qualified to set up for himself. He practised for a short time in Gloucester, and then returned to his native town, where he continued in the practice of his profession - though fre- quently interrupted after the first few years - until about the opening of the Revolutionary War, when he left it altogether. Dr. Holton
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
was chosen representative to the General Court in the thirtieth year of his age. He was among the first to enter into the preparations for resistance to the encroachments of the British power, which he did with charaetcristie zeal and energy. He was a member of the Pro- vineial Convention of 1768, ealled by a Boston town-meeting without the requisite authority of the royal government. He was also a member of the Provincial (State) "Congress" of 1775, and was an active mem- ber of the "Committee of Safety." He was commissioned a major in the 1st Essex regiment, though not a military man. He was a member of the executive council under the provisional government. The duties of these positions interfered materially with his praetiec as a physician, and soon absorbed all his time. Dr. Wadsworth, his pas- tor, says of him, that " in 1777, Judge Holton was one of the dele- gates from Massachusetts, who assisted in framing the Confederation of the United States at Yorktown. The ensuing year, he was for the first tinie, ehosen a delegate in the American Congress, and annexed his ratifying signature to that constitution of government. And so high did he stand in the esteem of that august body, that they eleeted him President of Congress, and thus promoted him to the first seat of honor in his country." He was five years in Con- gress under the Confederation, and two years under the Federal Constitution. But for his failing health, he would have continued longer at the seat of the general government. He had been five years in the State Senate, and twelve years in the Governor's Couneil. Dr. Wadsworth states that he had been appointed in 1776, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas for his native county, perform- ing the duties of that position nearly thirty-two years, and presiding about half that time. He was also "Justice of the Court of Gen- cral Sessions of the Peace " thirty-five years, and Chief Justice of the same fifteen.
From 1796 to 1815, Dr. Holton occupied the position of Judge of Probate for Essex County. He also filled at divers times the positions of selectman, town clerk, and assessor; for twenty-four years that of town treasurer; and for nearly half a century was treasurer of the First Parish.
It was also customary to appoint him as arbitrator in case of diffi- culty, and a general pacificator of the village disputes.
Judge Holton was a man of pure and upright character, with prin- ciples of justice and honesty firmly fixed. He was a thorough Chris- tiau from boyhood, carrying the fruits of his religion into his daily walks with men. At the age of seventeen, he joined a religious soci- cty of young people, and was a zealous working member. He pro- fessed his faith, and beeame a member of the church, Feb. 4, 1759, before attaining his majority. "Whether at home or abroad, he was a constant attendant upon publie worship and ordinances, notwithstand- ing the disadvantage under which he labored of hearing but a part of the services." He passed on from the world at peaec, declaring of the great Christian atonement, "It is the foundation of all my hopes."
His homestead and his residenee for the major portion of his life, was at the branching of the roads, about a fourth of a mile south of the meeting-house. This house, which had previously belonged to the Ilolton family, was reconstructed and built anew, either by the Judge or by his father, who removed to it in 1750. The house is still standing, and is owned by Thomas Palmer. This spot is frequently called the "Adams Corner," the residence of Israel Adams, whose wife was a grand-daughter of Judge Holton, having been here for .many years.
In addition to his other associations, Judge Holton was also one of the charter members and founders of the Massachusetts Medical So- eicty.
The Holton High School, established by the town in 1850, was named in his honor, and in itself a befitting memorial of this eminent man.
Another foremost man of his time, was Judge Samuel Putnam. He was born in Danvers, on the 13th of April, 1768. IIis parents
were persons of superior intelligence. His father was Dea. Gidcon Putnam, and his ancestry ran baek into our greatest American antiq- uity. He was a distant relation of Gen. Israel Putnam. He was carly sent to school in Beverly, whither his family removed for a time. At the age of ten, he was a student in Andover academy. He saw the departure of Arnold's ill-fated expedition as it passed on from Danvers. He had carly developed a taste for musie, and he played the fife for the troops as they marched past his father's gate. Young Putnam entered Harvard University, and graduated in the class of 1787. Among his classmates was John Quincy Adams. It was carly purposed that he should be a teacher, but Putnam aspired to the study of the law. He attempted to become one of the distinguished Judge Parsons' pupils, but his class being full, the latter directed Putnam to Martin Bradley, a sound and learned lawyer. Having finished his studies, he established himself in the practice of his profession at Salem, where he speedily attained high renown, and a widespread reputation. No advocate of his time was better versed in the princi- ples of common law than he. The great Samnel Dexter, in an im- portant case, sent his client to Mr. Putnam as the man to consult in that carly school of the law in Massachusetts. The afterwards emi- nent jurist and distinguished scholar, Judge Story, was Putnam's pupil. On the death of Chief Justice Sewall, in 1814, Putnam was made an associate justice on the Supreme Judicial Bench of Massachu- setts, by his friend, Gov. Strong, for whom he always had the deepest reverence. He filled this position for twenty-eight years, obtaining the respeet of all good men, for the manuer in which he performed the solemn and responsible duties of his office. No man ever held the scales of justice more evenly, or was more fearless and independ- ent in his decisions. He was remarkable, too, for the rare urbanity which stamped his whole deportment. He represented the town in both branches of the Legislature, in that stormy period of public affairs, before and after the war of 1812. In 1825, Judge Putnam received the degree of Doctor of Laws, from his alma mater, Har- vard University ; and, in 1842, he retired from the Supreme bench. He passed away, on the 3d of July, 1853, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. His wife, to whom he had been wedded for fifty-six years, survived him.
Here, too, in Danvers, was born the graceful writer and authoress, Harriet W. Preston, the daughter of Deacon Samnel Preston, of the First Parish Church, whose "Aspendale," "Love in the Nineteenth Century," and her beautiful English translation of the Provençal poem, "Mireio," together with many other translations of French and German writers, have obtained for her a justly deserved celebrity in the world of letters.
Gen. Israel Putnam, the " Old Put " of Bunker Hill, was another distinguished scion of the ancient Putnam family, and was born in Danvers, Jan. 7, 1718. He passed his boyhood in the old town, remaining until he attained his majority, when he removed to Pom- fret, Conn. The place of his birth is still to be seen in Danvers.
One of the most beautiful drives in this vicinity, is that to the sum- mit of Hathorne Hill, now crowned by the new and palatial State in- stitution for the insane, and from the summit of which can be obtained one of the grandest and most comprehensive views in this portion of the county. The asylum, which is here located, was completed and opened in the spring of 1878.
There are two main centre buildings, with four wings radiating from them. The administration building is 90 by 60 feet, with a tower 130 feet in height. In contains the offices for the superintendent and assistant superintendent, reception rooms, and general offices, together with the officers' residenees. Connected with it, in the rear, is a building 180 by 60 feet, in which are the spacious kitel- ens, laundries, chapel, and dormitories for the attendants. On each side of the rear building are the four wings, which are used, respect- ively, for the male and female patients, connected with each other by small square towers, except the last ones on each side, which are
15
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
joined by octagonal towers. These towers are ten feet square, and serve to separate the buildings, as well as to give communication throughout. The whole number of patients which the asylum is de- signed to accommodate, is five hundred, with possible accommoda- tions for one hundred more in the attic. Directly in the rear of the building, is the boiler or engine house, seventy feet square, with a chimney 120 feet high. It contains boilers of 450 horse power, which furnish steam for heating the asylum, and also for running the power- ful fans for foreing fresh air through duets in each ward. The build- ings are supplied with water from Middleton Pond, the commis- sioners uniting with the town in obtaining the present excellent system of water-works. Prior to the introduction of the latter, the town had no regular supply of water from street mains. There was a Salem and South Danvers Aqueduct Company, which supplied the inhabi- tants of the South Parish, but made no attempt to supply those of the North, whose only source was their own individual wells.
The present works include a reservoir, on Hathorne Hill, of a minimum capacity of five million gallons, and located about 230 feet above tide-water; also, a Worthington duplex pumping-engine, which supplies the reservoir, and is capable of pumping two million gallons in twenty-four hours, and twenty-five miles of street mains. The actual net cost of the works to the town, is $177,515.97. The first movement on the part of the town, to secure an adequate supply of pure water, was made in the winter of 1869-70. On the 23d of June, 1876, an agreement was signed with the commissioners, under which the present works were constructed.
The hospital was constructed, at a cost of over $1,500,000, and the expense has been made the basis of many heated reform arguments, in recent political campaigns. At the estimated capacity for five hundred patients, the average cost per capita, is $3,000. However, the asylum is a model structure, and one of the finest of its kind in the country.
Another interesting ride is that from Danvers, round through " Royall Side," to Beverly, by " Folly Hill," or, as it is commonly known throughout the county, "Browne's Folly." This is a lofty eminence, on the borders of the present line between Danvers and Beverly. It received its name from the fact, that the Hon. William Browne, a wealthy gentleman of the period, erected a splendid man- sion on the summit of this hill, about the year 1750, which he called " Browne's Hall," but which the country people, unable to comprehend such an extravagant waste of money, as they deemed it, to ercet so costly an edifice on so bleak a spot, dubbed it "Browne's Folly," a name which has ever since clung to the locality.
This mansion was built in the form of the letter H, a favorite method of building at that day, there being two parallel wings, as it were, front and rear, connected by a spacious hall in the centre. This house had a frontage of seventy feet. The hall was painted in imitation mosaic, and springing from the wall was a commodious eireular gal- lery. Near the house, was a dwelling exclusively for the servants, all of whom were negroes. The mansion was finished and furnished in the most costly manner, in accord with the wealth of its owner. Mag- nificent entertainments were held here, and, at a dinner-party on one occasion, an ox was roasted whole. Browne was born in 1709, and died in 1763. At his death, Capt. Richard Derby became the owner of the estate. It subsequently passed into the hands of William Bur-
ley, who sold it, in different portions, to a number of purchasers, and the mansion was broken up and removed by piece-meal ; a portion of it being removed to the square, in Danvers, where it was used as a tavern for a number of years. The traces of the cellars of this house are still to be seen on the summit of the hill.
Danvers possesses a lively, enterprising weekly paper, known as the " Danvers Mirror," published by C. H. Shepard & Co., and es- tablished in 1870, which has a good circulation. Previous to the establishment of this paper, there had been other short-lived sheets published, from time to time. Among these were the " Firefly," es- tablished March 9, 1844 ; the " Danvers Eagle," published by Samuel T. Damon, established Aug. 28, 1844, and suspended publication, Apr. 16, 1845 ; the " Danvers Whig," a campaign sheet, established in 1844, and the " Danvers Courier," published by George R. Carle- ton, established March 15, 1845. All of these papers ceased to exist many years ago. The Danvers " Advance," was started in 1875, but was given up in the same year. The " Danvers Monitor," which was circulated for a time, was an offshoot of the " Peabody Press." The " Essex County Citizen," a labor-reform organ, was started in the win- ter of 1877-78, but, after an existence of a few months, it was merged in the " Peabody Press." There are, in addition to the other societies mentioned, a number of secret organizations, including Am- ity Lodge of Masons, instituted in 1860, a lodge of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, several temperance organizations, and Ward Post 90, of the Grand Army of the Republic.
No town has so much of romance interwoven in its history, unless it be its parent, the city of Salem. Here are the old houses, which have stood for more than two centuries, and the old sites, which so vividly recall the scenes of other days. At the very entrance to the town, at the Port, is the " Old Orchard Farm," where once the stern and lordly Endicott resided, and there still, is the renowned old Endicott pear-tree, from whose fruit the colonial governor par- took, and which, year by year, has furnished its pears to generation after generation, for more than two hundred and fifty years. Here is the spot where Endicott established his iron and copper works ; and near by, must have been those mines of copper, and of iron ore, of which he has told us, but of whose existence there is now no trace. Here he held his stately receptions, and conducted, in a measure, the affairs of the Colony. Farther on in the town, is the birth-place of " Old Put," and the Putnam homestead; and at the Centre, is the birth-place of the famous Salem witchcraft delusion, the site of the old parsonage of 1681, in which the Rev. Mr. Parris, and his children, con- coeted the foul tragedy of 1692. Farther down on the Peabody road, near West Danvers Junction, is the cellar of old Giles Corey's little farm-house, the man who was barbarously pressed to death, because he refused to swear to a lie. Here in Danvers lived George Bur- roughs, Giles Corey and his wife, John Proctor and his wife, Rebec- ca Nurse, George Jacobs, Sarah Goode, and John Willard, all of whom were executed in that terrible reign of terror. Here is the his- torie Collins House, where Gov. Gage held court. Almost every foot of ground is linked with the history of the early colonial days. It furnishes a rich spot for the antiquarian, and the lover of historic lore. This sketch is but a brief summary of the past history of the old town, a history which would of itself fill volumes.
ESSEX.
The town of Essex, long known as Chebacco, or the Second Parish of Ipswich, was detached from the latter and incorporated Feb. 18, 1819. It is situated in the easterly part of the county, and is bounded on the north by Ipswich, on the east by Gloucester, on the south by Manchester, and on the west by Hamilton, from which it is for some distance separated by Chebacco Pond. Its mean length is four and a half miles ; its mean breadth, three and one-fourth miles. The Con- gregationalist church is north latitude 42º 38' 00.50", and in west lou- gitude 70° 47' 10.38". The southerly section of the town is hilly ; and there is a fine eminence, called Perkins Hill, in the westerly part, from the summit of which a fine view of the surrounding country and of the ocean is afforded. White's Hill, so named from the first settler, and Burnham's Hill, farther towards the north, are noted elevations, adding much to the beauty of the local scenery. The view from White's Hill embraces the town of Ipswich on the north, Plum Island, the ocean on the east, the forests of Manchester on the south, and the hills of Hampton on the west ; together with the windings of the Che- bacco River and the farms of the first settlers of the town. Extensive salt marshes, in the north-easterly section of the town, furnish an abund- ant supply of hay. Chebacco Pond, a fine sheet of water, with an area of about 260 acres, abounds in pickerel, perch, and bream ; and is a favorite resort for parties of pleasure. The name of this pond signifies "The Place of Spirits ;" it contains Loon and Gregory Islands, and the view of these, with the wooded headlands, and the deep blue waters, as taken from the Chebacco House, or the Centen- nial Grove, is remarkably fine.
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