USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > The history of Concord, Massachusetts > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
The young of the wild rabbits play at twilight by the door stone of old Samuel Smedley's cottage, and scratch their fur upon the remnant of that forlorn rose bush near by, from which a bud was plucked by Matilda Mitchel to bedeck her "bonnie brown hair" when she wedded Billy Ball.
Besides the ancient and disused roads of Concord, there are summer lanes, and winter woodways that are beautiful in their season ; and over these we would delight to ramble and listen to the birds, or falling of nuts, or catch the flash of the fall flowers if it were autumn. But as it is history that we are after, we will leave the lanes to the cows and the winter ways to the woodchoppers, and proceed to the subject of bridges, which are properly a part of the high- ways.
THE NORTH BRIDGE.
-
1
CHAPTER XV.
Bridges - Their Associations - Rules for the care of Concord Bridges - The Historic "Old North Bridge" -Its Environment - Graves of British Soldiers - The South Bridge - Its Successors - Other Bridges.
T HE subject of bridges is usually an interesting one, whether considered by historian, novelist or poet. Its associations are with the rippling, or rushing, or still water courses, and the human tide of travel that goes over them. We are accustomed to picture them with rustic accompaniments, as the boy with his fishpole, barefooted and bareheaded, or with a broad- brimmed hat, a truant from school, perhaps, or a runaway
from farm chores. Or, perchance, the scene may be laid within sound of the boatman's oar, or the splash of the water fowl, and near a tree embowered cottage, where, smil- ing in the sunlight, are pleasant gardens with geraniums, roses, and pinks. The causeway approaching the country bridge is also attractive, with its willow clumps, the singing of blackbirds upon them, and the buzzing of bees of a bright May morning in the furzy blossoms. All seasons are alike at the ancient bridge, and even in the desolation of bleak December, when all other objects are clad in snowy white, the bridge is usually bare and in the road-bed over it may be seen the mother earth reminding us that she has not quite forgotten us.
But there is a difference in bridges, and the interest that attaches to one may be unlike that of any other. One bridge is conspicuous because of its natural environment, resting peacefully beneath an archway of vines, where, low
I23
124
Colonial
drooping, are the purple grapes and wild clematis blossoms, while beneath are the dimpling waters of a still, clear stream moving between banks fringed with blue joint and meadow queen. Another may be historic, and although shorn of every other attractiveness, yet to stand beside it and think of what has passed over it and of its eventful past, is soul- stirring. On the Musketequid and one of its branches two bridges at least possess this latter characteristic. One met the advance westerly of the British empire led by King George the Third, the other the advance easterly of King Philip of Pokanoket about a century before, when with one thousand of his best warriors, he strove to pass this same river at Sudbury over the "Old Town Bridge" in his raid toward the seaboard. As before stated, rules were made concerning bridges, upon a division of the town into quarters in 1654, and in order to obtain an equable adjust- ment of their maintenance it was then enacted that the fol- lowing regulations should prevail : The East quarter was to care for all the bridges in its own precinct, and contribute three pounds toward supporting those in the North quarter. The South quarter was to maintain its own bridges, and also care for the Darby bridge in the North quarter; while with the foregoing assistance, the North quarter was to look after its own bridges. Among the oldest bridges here referred to are the North and South bridges. These two bridges and their successors have long been associated with Concord history, and with the coming and going of nearly a half score of generations of men. The floods from many storms have beaten about them and have sometimes swept over them, occasionally carrying them wholly away or in part dismantling them or causing the authorities to weight them temporarily, or to chain them to the near wil- low clumps, lest they go up stream or down stream, as the setting of the waters might choose to carry them ; for the Musketequid and its south branch are fickle streams, and have the peculiar trait of moving both ways. Probably the sluggish current of this river has done more damage to
125
Concord
its bridges by its lifting than by its propulsive energy ; for though never in a hurry, yet when there is a freshet, it lingers upon the broad meadows as if it liked to, and as if loath to leave their quiet precincts. At such times the cur- rent may actually set backward, as when the floods of waters fed by a hundred rivulets and especially by the occa- sionally fierce current of the North branch or Assabet meet the main body at Egg rock. So it is that one or more of the South bridges have been fairly lifted from their abutments and carried up stream. The exact date of the erection of these two bridges we cannot state. Before they were built the river and its branches were forded, or ferried by the use of canoes.
The stream farther up at Sudbury was early crossed by a boat paddled or "poled" by Thomas Noyes, for which he received two pence a passenger. Before the construction of the North bridge there was a fordway just below the ' mouth of Mill Brook. The fordway over the North Bridge is said to have been situated at the "old Hosmer place." Probably the shoal spots used by the English for crossing had been used by the Indians time out of mind.
It may be said to be characteristic of a part of the bridges over the Musketequid that they abutted on one side against a bank, or were built near it, which was done doubtless to avoid the construction of a causeway only on one side. So it was with the old town bridge at Wayland ; so also with the North and South bridges at Concord. But to be more specific, let us notice first the North bridge, since this is the most famous of them all. This bridge, situated in the North quarter, is the historic "Old North bridge." Just when it was erected no one knows, but it was after the erec- tion of the South bridge. Probably the first structure was a rude one and was washed away, and it is not unlikely that it was the same with the second one, since in 1660 three new bridges were constructed in the town of Concord, these taking the place of those referred to in the highway regulations in 1654. The road or trail that it accommo-
1
126
Colonial
dated was doubtless the one leading to the Blood farm, the territory of the Groton township, and the Pawtucket fish- ing grounds. But besides accommodating these places there were other and cogent reasons for a substantial cross- ing at this point. It would be a way to the outlying timber lands and to the rich pasturage and meadow crops on the other side of the river. To reach all these, a ford- ing place, a ferry, and hay scow would hardly suffice at all seasons. There were floods that remained for weeks, there were times when the ice was forming and breaking, and weeks when, if the waters were open, they were too cold for even cattle to wade through. It is no wonder then if some evening the neighbors gathered about the fireside of Par- son Bulkeley, and talked over the feasibility of building a narrow foot bridge near the fording place by Mill Brook that would suffice through the next summer and fall, after which time they would turn out and have a "bridge bee," each bringing his stick of timber, or stringer, or whatever part might have been alotted him; and so perhaps it was that a bridge went up near Goodman Buttrick's outlying land. The first structure was perhaps clumsily con- It was
structed, low set, and at times wholly submerged.
probably made of logs rough hewn, resting on coarse abut- ments, and if swept away could be easily replaced. The second, we may suppose, was more elaborately constructed ; for the settlers usually made progress in their public works, and so improvement continued, we may believe, until the construction of the historic "North," which the pictures represent to be slightly arched, stoutly framed, and span- ning the stream upon several rows of strong upright posts. The approach to the bridge over the meadow land was by a low causeway, along which stakes or stones were set to guide the traveler at high water. At the time of the "Concord fight," rough stones may have taken the place of stakes, for it is said that Captain Isaac Davis, when shot, fell upon one of them before his body rested upon the ground. The last historic "North bridge" floated down
I27
Concord
stream in a freshet, and as the road which it had served was discontinued, the North bridge was never rebuilt, for its late successor, which is there in part for a souvenir purpose, cannot properly be called its lineal descendant or take its name. But though the structure is demolished, its name and its memories will remain forever ; and every pilgrim who visits the site of it will naturally glance backward into the past for an imaginary glimpse of those grim old timbers which were hewn by the fathers, and pressed by the feet of the patriots as they pursued the retreating foe on April 19, 1775. The rude cut of this bridge made by Messrs. Doo- little and Earle gives a perspective which is far from satis- factory, but as it is the only one taken at the time now extant, it is tolerated ; but the natural surroundings have not all changed, and some of them are the same as on that beautiful spring morning when the grain waved on the fall- sown fields.
On the site of the "Old North bridge" is the present one, which might be properly called the memorial bridge. Opposite to it on the west bank is the minute man, and a few rods to the westerly is an apple tree which approxi- mately marks the spot where Capt. Isaac Davis of the Acton minute men fell. The old causeway to the upland is nearly obliterated, it being grassgrown and hardly per- ceptible above the meadow land. On the easterly side of the bridge site is the battle monument. Beyond the river up the hill side is the ancient Buttrick estate, and near by is the place where the militia and minute men were drawn up in consultation, and stood looking down upon the lone guard of Lieut. Thornton at the bridge. Near the river bank to the easterly repose the remains of sev- eral slain Britons, the first of England's dead in that great struggle in which she fell out of favor with America and lost a continent. Their graves are guarded by a stone wall and simple chain fence. The pine trees chant their elegy, and the winding river in its gentle flow or when in flood time its waters beat against the nearer bank utter sweeter
I28
Colonial
voices about their graves than stranger tongues could sound. So it matters not what fortune or adverse fate has given or denied to the conquered or the conqueror, for time has dealt alike with each and with the bridge that is associated with them.
"The foe long since in silence slept ; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps ; And time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream which seaward creeps."
Toward the village is the old manse, and but for the shrubbery it would be in view of the scene just described. To the easterly is the "lane" and the ridge, and the great fields over which the continentals ran to head off the British. For years silence reigned about the notable neigh- borhood of the North bridge, and the place was practically deserted, except as the infrequent pilgrim or the town folks on a gala day or people from the surrounding country side visited it. At length the scene changed, the battle monu- ment was erected, then the memorial bridge and the statue of the minute man ; and since 1875, in pleasant seasons, this place of monuments has become the Mecca of multi- tudes, and it may be said all roads lead to it.
Next in importance of the ancient bridges is the South bridge. This was situated at the westerly of Concord Center, and crossed the south branch of the Musketequid a little to the easterly of Nashawtuc not far from the present South bridge near the Fitchburg railroad. This is sup- posed to be the first bridge erected over the river, and is said to be situated at a point of land below Joseph Barrett's Esq., by "Lees hill" (Shattuck). It was washed away in 1665, and its successor was built the year after on the site of the present South bridge. At the least a half dozen bridges have been erected at this spot, and one of them was washed away and floated up stream by the backwaters of the North branch as they rushed downwards in a time of freshet and found easier egress above than below. Before
129
Concord
the erection of a bridge at this place the river was probably forded not far away. The "Darby" or "Derby" bridge was over the Assabet at the present Concord Junction, and named doubtless from its proximity to the Derby estate. As the fall of this stream is rapid compared with that of the Concord river proper, less casualties would probably occur to its bridges ; since when the current is sluggish the pressure may be greater. As to when it was built we have no knowledge; but probably it was nearly coeval with the "South," as both might to an extent subserve the same purpose in affording an outlet into the western wilderness. As in 1660, a new bridge was erected here, the presumption is that the first was built much sooner.
As to the other ancient bridges erected after the date of these, Shattuck says of them as follows : "The bridge by Captain Hunt's was first built about 1792 ; that by Dr. Ripley's in 1793 ; those at the turnpike in 1802 ; and that beyond Deacon Hubbard's in 1802."
At one time the town was allowed twenty pounds towards defraying bridge expenses, and later, thirty pounds. There were several lesser bridges at this time, which crossed the smaller streams, but of these it is hardly necessary to speak, except to state that a principal one crossed Mill Brook by the mill dam on Haywood street, and has been known as "Fort bridge" and "Potter's bridge," the former name being derived, doubtless, from its proximity to one of the garrison houses, and the latter from the owner of the adjacent lands.
CHAPTER XVI.
A Sunday with the Settlers -Walk to church- Description of the meeting House - The Service - Colonial Church Edifices - Quaint Accompani- ments- Early Ecclesiastical Objects, Customs and Influences - Their Value - Succession of Concord Meeting Houses.
I T was early twilight when we closed our conversation concerning the municipal management of affairs at Concord : and the log upon which we were sitting was already dampened by the dews that were gathering about Nashawtuc, when a horn sounded from the Willard farm-house informing us that supper was ready.
We slowly descended the hillside, talking as we went, and when we reached the bar way just behind the first barn for there were two of them, we saw gleaming through the bushes the bright firelight of the kitchen hearth, and heard the sound of children's voices as they trooped ahead of the hired men with their pails full of milk. Soon we were seated at the supper table, upon which were several dishes of a savory odor steaming hot, a beef soup highly sea- soned, a samp cake, and succotash made of dried green beans and dried green corn which Madame Willard said were just as good as when picked. The absence of pastry led us to infer that even among the well-to-do in those days, instead of the luxuries of modern times the table was supplied by the more healthful diet direct from the pastures and fields.
After supper we sat down for a quiet time all by our- selves, for the children had gone with their mother for a last glance at the catechumenical exercise of the coming
130
NAKEDIN KEM DELLED
18:41
5
FIRST PARISH MEETING-HOUSE, 1712.
From an old sketch made on a pine board.
I3I
Concord
Sunday, and the major was summoned to the "beaver house" by a squaw, who wanted some beads and a piece of dimity, giving as a reason for coming so late in the week to barter that she wanted the articles for her pappoose to wear next day at Big Pray's meeting. The Major demurred very emphatically at "this way of doing things after sun- down Saturday night." His words were very suggestive, and not being fully persuaded what they meant, it suddenly occurred to us to throw upon the fire some pieces of knotty, pine stumps, which Mr. Willard informed us his hired men that very day had hauled from in front of the meeting house, the trees that grew upon them having been cut years before when the ground was cleared.
As the pitch stewed from the fat splinters the sparks flashed, and since we were alone we heard every word ; and long before these remnants of the grand old woods that once crowned the hilltop, where stood the first forest sanc- tuary of old Concord, were reduced to ashes, we had reached valuable conclusions about the ecclesiastical cus- toms and social, moral, and religious observances of the inhabitants, some of which we will give now and others later in their order.
It was a practice of the people in colonial times to close the work of the week about sundown Saturday night ; the gate was shut down at the mill; the door was closed at the store; the children put away their play-things ; and all this in preparation for holy time. When the Sunday dawned all secular labor was suspended, works of necessity and mercy alone excepted, and a close construc- tion was placed upon the meaning and nature of these ; even the stranger who stopped at the tavern was supposed to tarry till Monday; and if he attempted to resume his journey sooner, he might be detained by the landlord, who perhaps was a tithingman. Within the domicile was a like strict observance of sabbath sanctity. The house was put in order, the food prepared, the Sunday clothing carefully inspected and laid out, and everything was done that could
132
Colonial
be done on the preceding day to prevent the necessity of work. As the evening wore on, various topics were talked about, and it was not until the clock in the corner struck ten, a late hour for colonial times, that we went to bed.
The morning dawned bright and rosy ; and as we looked out and saw the sun rising over the ridgeway, where stood the little meeting house in which we were that day to wor- ship, a feeling of unwonted restfulness came over us. The air was still. There was no sound of hammer or axe, and no stroke of distant threshing flail ; but silence prevailed everywhere; the wayside warblers had all gone, and the birds of passage which still lingered about the willows and in the pasture lane gave utterance to no note of farewell either to the passing autumn, or to the generous farm folks among whom they loitered. Upon the river course a soft mist rested peacefully, while beyond the upper meadows by the bay there floated a light, fleecy cloud so soft and still, it appeared to sleep. Upon such a scene the Sabbath dawned; and it was as if Nature was already in her own sanctuary at worship, and it only remained for man to join with her to make the worship of the world complete. As we stood admiring the prospect and half in wonder at the change that had been made in a few years, a call came from below summoning us to the breakfast table. We were reluctant to respond, for the feast of soul that was spread before us was we felt far better than any that could be afforded to the body, however delicious it might be. But being a guest we went down, and shortly after found ourselves with a great zest partaking of beans and brown bread baked in a brick oven, both of which were of that tint and exquisite flavor which only comes with slow cook- ing and a soft heat. Breakfast over and devotions ended, for the Major was a good churchman in his way, we went to the meeting house, Mrs. Willard leading the way, fol- lowed by the younger children led by the elder daughters, Mary and Abovehope, and a couple of servants. In pass- ing the bridge over the south branch the stillness was
I33
Concord
broken by the beating of a drum ; this we were told was to call people to meeting, and that that the "saxton" had twenty shillings a year for "beating the drum Sundays and lecture days," and for sweeping out the meeting house, besides being exempt from "minister rates."
As we entered the little "Strate strete" at the foot of the hill, we saw several families which had come from a dis- tance, among whom were the Hartwells, Brookses, Meriams and Rices, from the direction of the Shawshine, the Bakers and Flints from beyond the pond southerly, and the Bloods, Buttricks and Healds from the North quarter. The dress was simple, but better than that worn on week days, and we saw that great care was taken to keep it so ; for we observed that all the children and several of the adults stopped before ascending the hill and put on their shoes, which they had carried in their hands ; but the most noticeable of anything was that all the men carried firearms. We had read in books that the settlers in those days car- ried muskets to meeting to shoot Indians with, yet we did not expect to see it at Concord, but here they were, each man with his weapon with the exception of the old men, for almost every age was represented in this procession of churchgoers.
We inquired about these firearms, and were informed that they were carried to meeting at Concord in conformity to a law of the land which required it; but they only car- ried them to shoot wolves with in case they met any, and never as a protection against the Musketequid Indians. We felt much better after hearing this, for we had heard and read so much about English hate, and Indian hostility, and had seen so little discrimination made between the Indians of different localities, that we were not quite sure we were safe on Sundays if we were on week days, notwith- standing what Nantatucket told us. As we drew near the meeting house the minister arrived, and entering, all followed him. The drum stopped beating and all was still save the occasional note of a belated wood thrush, and the soft foot_
I34
Colonial
steps of a slow pacing sentinel left outside to conform to custom and law.
It was evening ; and amid the meadow mists by Nashaw- tuc we repaired to a quiet spot to review the scenes, sermons, and events of the day.
Having made the foregoing statements concerning church and church-going at Concord in Colonial days from a fictitious stand point, let us now consider the matter his- torically, and present facts.
The first meeting houses of the country were without chimneys or glass windows. They had four plain rectan- gular sides, and the crevices between the logs were filled with clay. The roof was low and covered with thatch. Their immediate successors were made of sawn material, and had a truncated pyramidal roof. Sometimes the roof was crowned with a belfry, and sometimes a small tower was erected near by, which contained the bell, and in some cases the town's stock of ammunition, and the burial appliances it may be, as the bier and pall or "burying cloth."
The third meeting house in the succession came into use in the eighteenth century, and was more elaborate, having a projecting porch with a steeple upon it.
It is probable that the Concord colony conformed to the customs of the period in church building, and that its first meeting house was like that of other towns. Let us sup- pose such to be the case, and conceive of its earliest house of worship as standing somewhere near the summit of the hill in the old burying ground, at a spot which overlooked the first street. It was reached, we will conjecture, by several narrow and winding wood paths-one from the direction of the manse, one from over the great fields to give a short cut across lots to the Bakers and Flints ; one running southwesterly around the millpond and across the brook, to accommodate the Mileses, whose canoe was moored snugly by the upper meadows after having brought them over the river. The walls of the structure, if like
I35
Concord
some others of the period, consisted of layers of logs, the bark hewn roughly on the upper and under sides, the crev- ices being filled with clay. It had perhaps a low, gable roof, and was devoid of any attempt to distinguish it from other buildings by means of a cupola or dormer windows, or even a weather vane. To erect a structure better than this at the beginning of the settlement would doubtless have been difficult; for there were no saw mills, the nails were hand wrought, and carpenter tools were few and clumsy.
Here it may be surmised, that since tradition says the first meeting house was used for a score and a half of years, it is possible, if not probable, that there has been a mistake about the identity of it, and that there were two buildings during that time; the first perhaps not such as they would call a meeting house, it being so short lived and poorly built, and designed only to serve for two or three years, and to be superseded by one with more churchly characteristics.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.