USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Tercentenary, 1655-1955, Groton, Massachusetts > Part 7
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An indoor rifle range was built in the Town Hall basement and a two hundred yard outdoor range on land now owned by Mrs. Henry Gilson. Both ranges were inspected, passed and approved for record shoot- ing. Every man in the company was a marksman, and a goodly number qualified at Wakefield as sharpshooters and experts.
A week's tour of duty at camp in Framingham one summer was one of the high-lights of the Company.
At the conclusion of the war the State Guard was disbanded and the colors were presented to the newly formed American Legion of Groton.
LAURENCE W. GAY POST, NO. 55, AMERICAN LEGION
The Laurence W. Gay Post No. 55, American Legion, was formed in 1919 and was named for a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Gay of this town. Laurence died in France of wounds received during World War I.
Daniel Needham, presently of West Newton, was the first com- mander of this post.
The Legion first met in the Town Hall. Later it leased the house next south of the Library for a meeting place until the town converted the Chaplin School on Hollis Street into a hall for the Legion's use. This building, now known as Legion Hall, is the meeting place not only of the Legion, but also the Legion Auxiliary, the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, and during World War II it served as the "Report Center" for civilian defense.
Down through the years the Post has been an active one. Each year one or two boys are sent to Boys State at the University of Massachusetts, and a worthy boy is sponsored at the Boy Scout camp in Dublin, N. H. On Class Day the Legion awards sports jackets to the High School boy
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and girl graduates selected for sportsmanship, improvement, team play and faithful attendance at practice sessions. On such patriotic occasions as Armistice Day and Memorial Day, Legionnaires give brief talks in the schools. July 4th observances have been sponsored by the Post, and Memorial Day exercises, in which tribute is paid to men and women of all wars, are conducted annually by the Legion.
AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY, TO THE LAURENCE W. GAY POST, NO. 55
On March 8, 1922, at the home of Mrs. Marion Torrey, it was voted to form a Legion Auxiliary to the Laurence W. Gay Post, for the pur- pose of participating in and contributing to the accomplishment of the aims and purposes of The American Legion. The person who instigated the formation of the Auxiliary, was Robert May, then Commander of the Legion. Mrs. Marion Torrey was appointed temporary president, and served as permanent president for two years. Other first officers were: Mrs. Alice Gay, vice-president; Mrs. Francis Sargent, secretary; Mrs. Marion Moyle, treasurer; and Mrs. Fannie Harrington, chaplain.
On March 11, 1922, application was made for a charter, which now hangs in the Legion Hall with the names of forty-seven members on it.
Many worthwhile accomplishments have been made by the Auxili- ary, namely: setting up a canteen for forest fire fighters some ten years ago, the presentation of the flag pole at the Groton Community Hospital, and the very impressive ceremony of placing a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery by one of our members, Mrs. Claudia Johnson on August 29, 1935.
A former member, Mrs. Marietta Conway, has held the office of County President and State President, and is now a National Committee woman.
Our Gold Star Mothers include Mrs. Alice Gay, Mrs. Selina Brad- ley, Mrs. Mineola Gleason, Mrs. Gertrude McKean, Mrs. Verde Clover, Mrs. Annie Wilson, Mrs. Rose Cutler, Mrs. Mabel Sawyer and Mrs. Vera Boynton.
THE GROTON GARDEN CLUB
In April 1923 Mrs. William P. Wharton invited a group of garden- minded neighbors to her house for the purpose of starting a small and informal garden club. This was the beginning of the Groton Garden Club, and it should be noted that out of the original group of twenty-two, seven women are still members.
The Club grew and flourished from the start, although during the war years it went perforce into moth balls for the duration. Even then, although it held no regular meetings, members continued, as they always
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had, to pack a weekly hamper of flowers from their gardens from June 1 through September and send it to the Benevolent Fruit and Flower Mis- sion in Boston for the benefit of shut-ins and invalids in the North End. After the war the club met regularly once more.
The Club's activities, past and present, are roughly as follows:
Monthly meetings from October through June.
Periodic flower shows in the Town Hall, open to the public, free.
Annual sale of plants from members' gardens.
Civic planting such as that around the Public Library and the Town Hall, and trees on the principal streets where needed.
Flowers and Christmas greens contributed regularly to the hospital and chapels at Fort Devens and arranged by a committee within the Club.
Plantings around the Community Memorial Hospital in Ayer and the Red Cross Headquarters at Fort Devens.
Weekly hamper of flowers packed and sent to the Benevolent Fruit and Flower Mission during the summer months.
For a number of years the Club planted and cared for a wild-flower reservation in the Town Forest in West Groton, but the 1938 hurricane wiped it out so thoroughly that the project had to be given up. For a time, too, it sponsored a Junior Garden Club, which was eventually taken over by the 4-H Club.
The Groton Garden Club is keenly interested in conservation and in the preservation of the fine old trees which add so much to the beauty of Groton. It believes, too, that to preserve the beauty of an exceptionally fine example of a New England country town, zoning laws should be passed which will safeguard that beauty for future generations.
ROTARY CLUB OF GROTON
The Rotary Club of Groton No. 5340, sponsored by the Fitchburg Rotary Club, was organized January 15, 1941. A month later the Club joined Rotary International, whose fiftieth anniversary is being cele- brated this year. Groton Rotary, including members from Pepperell and Townsend as well as Groton, meets at the Groton Inn each Wednesday at 12:15 P. M.
Mottoes for Rotary are "Service above self" and "He profits most who serves best."
The first president of Groton Rotary was Rev. John Crocker. Present officers include two Groton men, Jean Lancaster, President and Albert J. Hally, Secretary.
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WEST GROTON COMMUNITY CLUB
In December 1946, a group of interested citizens met in Squanna- cook Hall, and voted to form the West Groton Community Club. Accord- ing to By-Laws which had been drawn up, the purposes of the Club were "to foster and promote athletics and competitive sports among the youth of West Groton and nearby districts; to foster and maintain interest in the advancement and improvement of West Groton."
Land on Mill Street was procured and cleared for a playing field. It was dedicated on September 6, 1948, and named the Joseph E. Cutler Memorial Park in memory of Ensign Joseph E. Cutler, who died acci- dentally July 27, 1943, while in training as a Naval flier at Pensacola, Florida.
At the Park, a small club house, a bandstand and a flagpole have been erected. Swings and slides for the little children are in place, and plantings of evergreens and flowers about the flag pole make the spot attractive.
Financially successful field days have been held on nearly every Labor Day since the Club began, with sports being planned for children, and with a band providing music for the enjoyment of all. The Club has conducted social activities such as dances for the young people, and Halloween and Christmas parties, and for a number of years has spon- sored the West Groton Boy Scouts.
THE PARENT-TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
In the 1940's parents were saying to each other, "Why don't we have a Parent-Teachers Association in Groton?" and "How do we start one?"
In the autumn of 1946, Mrs. Thomas S. Lawrence approached the District Director of the Massachusetts PTA to learn how to organize such an association. A meeting was called and an enthusiastic group responded. Officers were elected and installed. By-laws were drawn up and accepted, and the Parent-Teachers Association of Groton was formed. Meetings have been held in the evening, thereby interesting fathers as well as the mothers in fine constructive programs.
The PTA has sponsored a number of projects. In its second year it secured the inclusion of Groton in a dental survey being made by the state. In its third year an appropriation of $100 was made for musical instruments for use in the High School. In its fourth year it published an organization calendar of events for the town, and sponsored a discussion group on child psychology. It has inaugurated a "get-acquainted tea" for incoming first graders and their mothers, and class picnics at the close of school. The PTA has furnished the health room at the new elementary school and the teachers' rooms in both elementary schools. Its opening meeting of each year is a reception for teachers, and the
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November meeting is an Open House in each of the schools. The PTA holds a whist party to help finance the senior class trip, and awards a $50 Savings Bond for character and citizenship to a boy and a girl in the graduating class. The PTA is now sponsor of the Groton Cub Scout Pack, and of square dance classes at the High School for the 7th to 10th grades and at the new elementary school for all 5th and 6th grades.
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
The League of Women Voters began in Groton in February, 1949, when twenty-four interested women met and formed a provisional League. A year later with the membership approaching one hundred, Groton was accorded full League status and assumed a program of work on all three levels - local, state, and national.
On the local level the Groton League has conducted a Know Your Town survey of local officials and departments, a study of parliamentary procedure at Town Meeting, a public health survey, a study of the school situation before the building of the new elementary school, and just this year a study of the long range educational needs faced by Groton as a growing community. In addition, the League has run a weekly Voters' Service Station column in the Ayer paper, has distributed and published material locally before primary and state elections, has sponsored four annual Candidates' Nights before Town Meeting, has entertained two groups of foreign students and one group from the U. N., and has held open meetings, such as the ones celebrating U. N. Day and the Open Forum on Public Health, to which the community has been invited.
The Groton League of Women Voters will continue to work in the future to "promote informed and active participation of citizens in gov- ernment."
SELECTIVE SERVICE BOARD
On October 16, 1940, registration for Selective Service took place all over the United States. On October 22nd, Local Board No. 74 was offi- cially opened at the Groton Town Hall.
Eleven towns were included in this board - Ashby, Ayer, Chelms- ford, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, Tyngs- boro, and Westford. Mr. Frank A. Torrey of Groton served as Chairman and Mr. Norman P. Mason of Chelmsford as Secretary. The other mem- bers were Judge Lyman K. Clark of Ayer, Mr. John T. Sullivan of Pepperell, and Mr. Otis Day of Westford.
During the busy days of World War II, four full-time clerks were employed. 279 Groton men enlisted or were drafted from Local Board No. 74. Of this number, six made the supreme sacrifice. Eleven women from Groton also served during World War II.
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The Board was finally moved to Lowell and became part of Local Board No. 19. In February, 1951, Selective Service again set up an office at the Groton Town Hall and Local Board No. 100 came into existence. It is comprised of the same eleven towns. The Groton representative on it is Mr. Joseph P. Mitchell.
The total number of registrants at the present time is 3,632 as com- pared to 7,170 registrants for Local Board No. 74.
THE GROTON LEATHERBOARD COMPANY
Records from 1662-1707 show the original proprietors of the land now owned by the Groton Leatherboard Company were Jonathan Morse, Thomas Tarbell Senior, and Samuel Woods. This property at one time took the name of one of these proprietors, and was known as "Tarbell's Mills."
It is quite clear that a saw mill was established here on the Squan- nacook River prior to 1744. During the next one hundred and thirty years various types of manufacturing were carried on. The saw mill remained pretty consistently throughout this period, but at various times a dye house, wool carding, and grist mills were established. These mills were located on both sides of the river, the westerly side being annexed to the town of Shirley in 1798, and more or less common use was made of the water power, the source of which was at the present dam location. About 1875 a strawboard mill was erected, and this was followed shortly by the manufacture of leatherboard, which was probably the first manu- factured in this country.
The Groton Leatherboard Company was incorporated in 1899 for the purpose of manufacturing and selling leatherboard and leatherboard products. The mill was in continuous operation producing counter- boards, shank-boards, chair-boards, friction-boards and heel-boards until July 23, 1914, when the buildings were destroyed by fire. The following year a new brick building was erected, the water power improved by the installation of two modern water wheels, and entire new equipment in- stalled. Manufacture of leatherboards was resumed in the new mill in 1916.
In 1924 the charter was amended so as to extend the nature of its business by adding to the corporate purposes "the manufacture and sale of mats for use in stereotype printing and any articles or products cap- able of manufacture in paper or board mills." The company commenced the manufacture of stereotype dry mats and became the second company to produce this product in the United States. In 1926, 1928 and 1936 substantial additions were made to the plant and production was greatly increased.
Since 1924 the entire product of the mill has been sold through the Certified Dry Mat Corporation, New York, who distribute it to news-
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papers and commercial shops throughout the United States and foreign countries. In 1946 control of the Certified Dry Mat Corporation was acquired by the Groton Leatherboard Company.
The management and ownership of the Groton Leatherboard Com- pany has always rested in citizens of the town.
HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE COMPANY
To trace the origin of Hollingsworth and Vose Company one must start with a revolutionary development in the art of paper making. In 1843, the brothers, John Mark and Lyman Hollingsworth, were granted a patent by the U. S. patent office for the manufacture of paper from manila fiber. The patent was the result of the discovery by the Hollings- worth brothers, during the depression that followed the panic of 1837, that they could utilize a scrap pile of manila bolt ropes which they had cut from old sails.
In 1852, Lyman Hollingsworth purchased a paper mill from Jep- thah R. Hartwell on the site of the present West Groton mill of Hollings- worth & Vose Company. This mill, which was originally a starch factory, had been in existence since before 1832, and during the ensuing twenty years passed through numerous hands. In 1846, while in Hartwell's possession, the mill burned down and was rebuilt. After its purchase by Lyman Hollingsworth, and until 1881, it was used to manufacture paper from jute and manila fiber.
In 1871, Zachary T. Hollingsworth, a nephew of Lyman Hollings- worth, purchased a mill in East Walpole. Charles Vose entered Mr. Hollingsworth's employ as a salesman in 1875, and formed a partnership with him under the firm name of Hollingsworth and Vose in 1881. During the year they purchased the West Groton mill from Lyman Hollingsworth and continued to make paper there.
A major change in the organization of the firm occurred in 1921 when Zachary Hollingsworth and Charles Vose retired. Valentine Hollingsworth and Louis E. Vose, sons of the retired partners, became President and Vice-President respectively.
Valentine Hollingsworth died in 1942 and was succeeded as Presi- dent by Louis E. Vose. Aubrey K. Nicholson, who had been Superin- tendent of the West Groton mill for several years, was elected Vice- President. Following Mr. Vose's death in 1945 Mr. Nicholson became President. In 1953 Mark Hollingsworth, a son of Valentine Hollings- worth, was elected Vice-President. The Treasurer of the Company is Bruce G. Lennox, son of the late Robert W. Lennox, who was Vice-Presi- dent and Treasurer for many years.
Hollingsworth and Vose Company currently manufactures approxi- mately twenty-five tons per day of highly specialized papers for indus- trial use at the West Groton mill. Included in the list of uses for which
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these papers are made are automotive and diesel oil filters, electrical and cable insulation, artificial leather, wallet papers, and various filter papers for liquids and gases.
Currently Hollingsworth and Vose Company employs approximate- ly 175 people at the West Groton mill. Roland W. Sawyer, a resident of West Groton, is Superintendent.
A. H. THOMPSON AND SONS COMPANY
Many years ago a small saw-mill and stave mill, run by water power, were doing business in the northwest corner of West Groton in that locality known as "Thompsonville." They were owned for almost seventy years by John Scales, and later by his son.
In 1883, Granville Shepley, a native of West Groton, purchased this property and two years later transferred it to his nephew, A. Howard Thompson. Mr. Thompson added to the saw-mill a building for the manufacture of boxes and coal screen frames. In a few years wooden reels for electric wire and cable purposes were added to the goods pro- duced.
During the early 1890's the saw-mill was moved to West Groton village, and operated by steam, which was a more satisfactory power. A year or two later the remainder of the wood-working machinery was moved to the new site. Gradually the reel business superseded the box business, and it became the chief product as it continues to be at the present time. Sizes of reels range from 14-inch to 96-inch in diameter.
Mr. Thompson's sons joined him in business in 1919 and formed the corporation called A. H. Thompson and Sons Company.
Early in the 1940's the plant was considerably enlarged. At the present time the plant is able to consume over 2,000,000 ft. of lumber and to manufacture material for more than 31,000 reels yearly.
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OLD HOUSES OF GROTON
THE BRADSTREET PARSONAGE. The oldest house in town, so-called, is on Hollis Street and is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Johnson. The town voted in April 1706; "That they would make a good house of thirty-eight feet long, and eighteen feet wide, and a lean-to of eleven feet wide, all the length of the house." So, it was built as a parsonage for the Rev. Dudley Brad- street, the fifth min- ister of the town, whose church stood not far away on the plot of land now known as Legion Common. Like other old houses it has passed through many hands and has undergone various changes, but is now similar to the original without the lean-to.
THE CHAMPNEY HOUSE. The house, also on Hollis Street, at the south corner of Champney Street, often referred to as the Champney House, is one of the old- est houses in town, built about 1730. It was once a tavern before the days of the Groton Inn, and was kept by Samuel Bowers, Jr., who was familiarly known as "land 'urd Bowers." If the legend about Paugus is true, it is natural to suppose that this inn was where Paugus came to inquire for Chamberlain.
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THE NAHUM WOODS HOUSE. The salt box house on the Lowell Road was prob- ably built as early as 1720 or maybe earlier by Samuel Woods or one of his sons, and remained the property of his descendants for almost two hundred years. He erected a mill here to which farmers for miles around brought their grist on horseback.
JOSHUA WHITNEY FARM. Another salt box house in its picturesque setting at the foot of Prospect Hill on the Bos- ton Road is of an early date. It is not known when it was built. Joshua Whit- ney, one of the pioneer settlers, lived on this location before the burning of the town. The property was in the name of his son, William, by deed of gift, in 1713. This place is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Leeming.
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THE GROTON COUNTRY CLUB. The house now known as the Groton Country Club was an old garrison house, and is on land which belonged to Jacob Onge, one of the original proprietors of Groton. It was built with brick lined walls, as garrison houses often were, and shutters on the windows had "peep-holes" from which one would look out at the enemy.
At the time of the burning of the town in 1676, it is known that there were four garrison houses near the center of the village and one "a mile distant." It is believed by some that this house is the garrison house that was "a mile distant," although there were several other garrisons answering that description and all but one were doubtless built after the return of the settlers.
In 1814, David Torrey came from Weymouth and settled on this place. His son, Reuben L. Torrey, lived here, and later Kennie Fletcher, who farmed it and carried on an ice business. Al- terations during the last century have robbed the house of any look of antiquity. Mr. Fletcher sold the farm in 1924 to Dana C. Sherlaw, who has conducted it for thirty years as a golf club. The hills on the prop- erty afforded a fine opportunity for skiing. Many came here to enjoy this sport, and the idea came to Mr. Sherlaw to set up a ski tow. In 1937 one ski tow was set up and later another. Now during the winter sea- son both tows are in operation.
Only this past year the property was sold again to two young men, who are operating it as a golf club under the name of the Groton Country Club.
THE GROTON INN. The oldest part of the Groton Inn, which is the southern section, was originally built for a dwelling house about 1770. Before the Revolution it was occupied by the Rev. Samuel Dana, minister at the meeting-house nearby. Mr. Dana had Tory sympathies, and in March 1775, preached a sermon which gave offence to the people. He was dismissed from the church, and tradition relates that the towns- people were so enraged that they shot bullets into Mr. Dana's house.
Captain Jonathan Keep was the first landlord of the Inn. He was followed by the brothers, Isaiah and Joseph Hall, who were landlords as early as 1798. They were succeeded in 1825 by Joseph Hoar, and next by Moses Gill and his brother-in-law, Henry L. Lawrence. In 1842, Thomas Treadwell Farnsworth bought the tavern and conducted it as a temperance house, at that time considered a great innovation on former customs. It was next sold to Daniel Hunt, who kept it until 1852, and he was followed by James M. Colburn. It was in turn called by the names of its owners, as Hunt's Tavern and Colburn's Tavern. J. Nelson Hoar, a son of the former landlord, took it over in 1854 and it remained in his family for many years under the name of
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the Central House. While operated by the Dodge family and more recently by Mr. Marriott it has been called the Groton Inn.
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Groton Inn
There is on the wall of the reception room at the Inn an old German clock which was brought from Germany by Captain Jonathan Keep and placed there while he was landlord. The clock has been in operation ever since, although it has lost its ability to play a waltz tune as it once did.
THE STONE LODGE HOUSE. Near the center of town and next to the Boutwell House is a stone wall and gateway, which makes an impressive entrance to what was once a large estate called Shawfieldmont. If one looks on the wall, he will find a bronze plaque, which reads "To the fond memory of Charles Bancroft, 1802-1873, Lydia Emeline Spaulding Bancroft, 1822-1895."
Back of the gateway is a little stone house now owned by Charles M. Raddin. This was built as a lodge by Gen. Bancroft on the spot occupied by his father and his grandfather. Just back of where the gateway is, there had been for years an old colonial home, which had housed many important Groton people in- cluding three generations of Bancrofts. In 1875, this house was divided and moved away to the end of Court Street, where it is now two houses.
General Bancroft, a Groton boy, who had been away from town for a long time and had prospered, was in 1905 president of the Boston Elevated Railway. He was fond of his birthplace, so bought up his ances- tor's old property and much more including Gibbet Hill. He made quite extensive plans and began by building his entrance and lodge house. From there the driveway led back across the fields to the hill, where he built a house with a stone tower, and occupied it for a while. Another entrance on the Lowell Road and winding driveway led to this house. Even- tually it was to be the stable, and on the very top of the hill was to be a castle, his home to which he would retire.
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