USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Milton > The history of Milton, Mass., 1640 to 1877 > Part 29
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Nov. 12 1728. Voted that they who draw pus shall sit in them them- selves, with so many of their family as can conveniently sit with them, and the rest of their family to be seated with the rest of the town.
1751. March, 11. Voted that the negro men and women should sett in the two hindermost seats of the upper most gallery [uppermost part of the gallery].
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MEETING-HOUSES.
March 12, 1753. Samuel Miller Benj. Fenno and Capt. John Crehore were chosen a Committy to act on the towns behalf with respect to Thomas Hutchinson Esq. having a place for a pew in the Meeting house. Voted that six inches be taken of the womans stairs if need be to make room for a pew.
After the completion of this building Jonathan Gulliver, Henry Vose, Benjamin Fenno, Samuel Swift, John Daniel, and Samuel Miller, Jr., in behalf of the town, conveyed to Thomas Vose, July 4, 1732, for the sum of £34, the old meeting-house, as follows : -
A tract of land containing by estimation, thirty and six rods with an old Meeting-house thereon belonging to the said town Butted & Bounded as followeth : Easterly on the said Thomas Vose's land: Southerly and Westerly on the road, and Northerly on Nathaniel Vose's land, together with all and singular the said old Meeting-house and all the priveleges and Appurtenances there unto belonging.
FOURTH MEETING-HOUSE.
For several years the meeting-house needing repairs, and proving too strait for the people, the question at length arose respecting a new house. In 1772 a committee was appointed to take this matter into consideration.
At a meeting May 13, 1773 the committee reported, that they should now recommend to the town to get a new meeting-house as soon as they can, the easiest way that may be thought of, and the report was accepted by a vote of the town. Voted to build the new meeting-house on the most convenient spot of the same piece of the town land that the old meeting- house now stands on.
The population of the town had nearly doubled in the forty- five years that had elapsed since the building of the house then in use, and the question of repairs involved also the question of enlargement, which, in the judgment of the committee, could be met in the most economical way by commencing at the foundation.
But the clouds of war began to gather thickly over them; the troubles with the parent government were daily growing more serious and menacing, engrossing the thoughts of the people to the exclusion of all other considerations, and nothing more is heard of the new meeting-house until after peace was restored.
At a town meeting Oct 3, 1785 Voted to build a new meeting-hous 66 by 52. Voted to meet the cost by the sale of the old meeting-hous at auction - by selling the pews in the new Meeting-hous to be built, and by assessing the remainder on the estates of the citizens.
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
Nov. 14, 1785. Sixty-two pews on the lower floor of the house to be built were appraised at £904, and sold for £1,191 2s., being £287 2s. above appraisal. Col. William Taylor made the highest bid for choice, £6 12s .; John Marshall and John Crehore, Jr., the lowest, £3 12s. At a later date twenty- four gallery pews were appraised and sold, the bids above ap- praisal ranging from £1 10s. to £5 2s., and amounting in the aggregate to £209 8s. The whole amount realized from the sale of pews was £1,400 10s. This seems to have been the first step in the building process.
The work on the frame began May 1, 1787. On the 19th of June they commenced raising.
Altho four days ware Barely sufficient for accomplishing that important Difficult & Dangerous part of the Business, yet as the Quantity of the Tim- ber was large and very hevey as thare was No damage sustained or the most triffling accident hapned during the whol time, these singular Cir- cumstanees were generally considered as evident Tokens of the divin fa- vour and supernatural Protection.
December 31. We were agreeably entertained with the Exhibition of a very elligant clock Presented as a donation to the Town by Mr. Edward H. Robbins. This Butifull Machine Justly Esteemed very ornamental is really much more valuable on account of its use and Conveniency ; for while it serves to distinguish those artificial Periods of Time that measure and Constitute the aggregate Term of univarsell Mortal Duration at the same time it reminds us of the Constant and uninterrupted Succession of those moments that will infallably & shortly reduce that Portion of time alloted to mortals to one single point.
This new building was dedicated Jan. 1, 1788, costing $5,600. It is the same edifice now occupied by the Unitarian Society, only when built it stood lengthwise towards the street, with the steeple-end facing southerly. In 1835 it was turned around, the galleries were walled out, and the interior was greatly changed. In 1851 it was enlarged by the addition of twenty pews, and received extensive improvements. In 1871 it was again repaired and improved, as we now see it.
A few years since, the parish parlor was built on the west side of the church, affording pleasant accommodations for the Sabbath school and for the social wants of the people.
All other church edifices in Milton are described in the chapter on "Ministers of Milton."
OTHER TOWN BUILDINGS.
Town-meetings were held in the meeting-house, or, in suit- able weather, on the church green, until A.D. 1836. In the
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OTHER TOWN BUILDINGS.
year 1818 the parish was organized, and the town relinquished all claims to the meeting-house and property ; but town-meetings were held in the meeting-house, by the consent of the parish, for about eighteen years afterwards.
The last town-meeting in the meeting-house was on March 9, 1835. Town-meeting in Academy Hall, Nov. 9, 1835; in the vestry of East meeting-house, June 1, 1836 ; at the Railway House, Monday, Nov. 14, 1836 ; at the Railway meeting-house, Feb. 13, 1837.
Aug. 24, 1836. The Trustees of Milton Academy voted to rent the lower story of the Academy Building to the Town of Milton for town meetings at $40 per year.
It is not certain that town-meetings were held in the Academy after that of Nov. 9, 1835, unless the March meeting of 1836 was there.
Two town-meetings in 1837 were held in the vestry of Rail- way village meeting-house, as appears by an item among "inci- dental " expenses in the first printed report of the town: "Paid for use of vestry at Railway village meeting-house for two town meetings, $300." This was the old stone church.
A tract of land for a town-house was purchased of Mr. Taylor in 1837, at the cost of $350, and a building was erected the same year. The March meeting of 1838 was held in the new town-house.
A paper enumerating the contents of a copper box deposited in the corner-stone of the present Town-Hall, erected in 1878, which contains a history of the first town-house, as well as of its successor, the present building, with other interesting facts, is here introduced : -
CONTENTS OF THE BOX THIS DAY DEPOSITED IN THE SOUTHEASTERLY CORNER-STONE OF THE TOWER OF THE TOWN-HALL, JULY 22, 1878.
The Citizens of Milton, A. D. 1878, to The Citizens of Milton, A.D. - Salutations and Benedictions !!
" The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you ; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace ! " - Numbers vi. 24-26.
OLD TOWN-HOUSE.
The town of Milton, after having given up their meeting-house to the First Congregational Parish, and having no place in which to hold their town-meetings, at their meeting in March, 1837, chose the Hon. John Ruggles, Jason Houghton, Esq., Dea. Jesse Tucker, Moses Gragg, Alva Martin, Walter Cornell, and Dea. Samuel Adams a Committee to purchase a
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
piece of land near the centre of the town, and erect thereon a town-house, not to exceed forty by sixty feet, and one story in height, and at a cost not to exceed $2,500.
The selectmen were authorized to draw on the treasurer from time to time in such sums as might be wanted ; and if there were no funds on hand, he was authorized to hire on the credit of the town.
By the sagacity and prudence of President Jackson, a surplus had ac- cumulated in the U. S. Treasury, which was distributed to the several States. Massachusetts divided her share among the towns; Milton's proportion of which was $3,424.89. This sum going into the treasury, enabled them to pay without hiring, the cost of the land, town-house, and furnishing, $2,835.43, and to have a surplus of $589.46 left in the town treasury.
The above house, having fulfilled its mission of forty-one years, is now (1878) about giving place to one more in accordance with the wants of the town.
The valuation of the town in 1837 was $1,648,380.30. The rate of tax on $1,000 was $3.45.
The valuation the present year is but a little short of $9,000,000, and the rate of tax per $1,000 is $7.00.
Amount raised by tax in 1837, $4,000.00 ; schools partly additional.
Amount raised by tax in 1878, $63,392.20.
The highest tax paid by an individual in 1837 was paid by Gen. Moses Whitney, viz., $187.80.
The highest tax paid in 1878 was by heirs of A. Hemmenway, $11,- 561.20.
NEW TOWN-HALL.
At the annual March meeting, A.D. 1878, the town of Milton voted an appropriation of thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) for the erection of a town-hall, and the following committee of citizens were chosen to carry into effect the vote of the town, viz., William H. Forbes, Chairman, Samuel Gannett, Secretary, J. Huntington Wolcott, James M. Robbins, Samuel Babcock, George Vose, Edward L. Pierce, Horace E. Ware, and Albert K. Teele.
The work was entrusted to the following artisans : -
Architects. - Hartwell & Tilden, of Boston.
Contractors. - Mason Work : Wm. C. Poland & Son, of Boston. Carpentry : Creesey & Noyes, of Boston.
DOCUMENTS AND COIN IN BOX.
Address at the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of Milton, delivered June 11, 1862, by Hon. James M. Robbins.
Two sermons preached in Milton, June 15 and 22, 1862, suggested by the Centennial Celebration, by John H. Morison, D.D.
The Auditor's first printed Financial Report of the town, containing a statement of expenditures in the erection of the first town-hall, A.D. 1838. The Auditor's last Report of the finances of the town, A.D. 1878.
The first printed Annual Report of the School Committee of Milton, A.D. 1841. The last Annual Report of the School Committee of Milton, A.D. 1878.
Twenty-fifth Anniversary Sermon, preached in the First Evangelical Church of Milton, Dec. 19, 1875, by Albert K. Teele, D.D.
Report of the Committee for procuring a Seal for the Town of Milton, adopted March 4, 1878.
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OTHER TOWN BUILDINGS.
A Discourse occasioned by the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Formation of the First Church of Milton, delivered April 28, 1878, by Rev. Frederick Frothingham.
A Collection of Papers relative to the Transactions of the Town of Milton in the State of Massachusetts to promote a general Innoculation of the Cow or Kine Pock, as a never-failing preventive against Small-pox infection, A.D. 1809.
Boston Daily Papers of July 20, 1878. - Advertiser, Post, Globe, Herald, Transcript, Journal, Traveller.
Weekly Papers. - Boston Beacon, Norfolk County Gazette, Dedham Transcript, Quincy Patriot.
United States Coin, Issue of 1878. - Silver dollar, trade-dollar, half- dollar, quarter-dollar, dime, " nickel," five-cent, three-cent, one-cent.
ALBERT K. TEELE, For Building Committee.
The Town-Hall, described in the foregoing paper as in process of erection, was successfully completed and delivered to the town. The Building Committee having finished their work, announced to the citizens the occasion of its formal open- ing by the following circular left at their residences : -
TO THE CITIZENS OF MILTON.
Your Committee appointed by the town at their last March meeting, for the purpose of building a Town-Hall, respectfully represent that, having finished their work, they propose on Monday, Feb. 17, 1879, to deliver the keys to the Selectmen, and end their duties with the following ceremonies.
The hall will be opened to the public at 2 o'clock, P.M .; at 7 P.M. exercises as follows : -
MUSIC BY THE CADET BAND.
PRAYER BY REV. A. K. TEELE.
COMMITTEE'S REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN, WM. H. FORBES.
ADDRESS BY HON. EDWARD L. PIERCE.
Music by the Band the remainder of the Evening. COL. HENRY S. RUSSELL WILL PRESIDE.
At this dedication service the hall was crowded with an audience of citizens deeply interested in the successful comple- tion of the work, and in the facilities thus provided for the growing wants and business of the town.
The dedicatory address of Mr. Pierce was admirably adapted to the occasion and to the hour. With great skill the orator
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
seized upon the salient points in the life and history of the ancient town, and in glowing language, rich in comparison and vivid in description, placed before his fellow-citizens a real picture of the past and the present.
The address appeared in the papers of the day; it was printed with the forty-third Auditor's report of the town for 1880 ; it may also be found in the Public Library, under " Mil- ton Documents." The following selection, from its descriptive portion, demands a place in our history : -
We have in the pleasant places where our lines have fallen blessings which came to us without effort or sacrifice of ourselves or our fathers. There are no four miles in our country - perhaps, without exaggeration, we might add on the globe - more endowed with all that is attractive in scenery than those which are covered by our municipal jurisdiction. Here are no morasses, no pestilential districts, no blasted heaths, no wastes where all is parched, scraggy and repulsive, no dead level wearisome to eye or feet ; but the whole space filled with a pure and health-bringing air which rises from the sea and descends from the hills, spread out in varied landscapes, diversified with elevations and intervals, with forests and fields, watered by unfailing brooks, and even the hills fed by perpetual springs. Here on our fair heritage are combined the Blue Hills to the south, from which came, according to Roger Williams, the Indian name of our beloved Commonwealth - Massachusetts; the Neponset river flowing along our northern border, and the ocean view to the east. You who have journeyed in other lands, along the Charente, the Loire, or the Arno, what fairer prospect have you seen than the eye sweeps, as you stand on Milton Hill looking on the river, as with changing tide it spreads out a broad lake, or withdraws to its narrow bed; on eminences crowned with villas; on vil- lages nestling in valleys or covering elevations ; on church-spires, testify- ing to Christian worship; on the islands and beacon lights in the harbor of New England's metropolis ; on ships departing and returning on their errands of commerce and civilization ?
Looking southward on the same highway, the old Plymouth road, the eye glides along a scene hardly less picturesque, which embraces the in- terval and the hills beyond. Standing on Brush Hill, with no intervening obstruction between you and the Blue Hills, there lies spread out before you nature in one of her royal moods, a study worthy of some gifted artist. Passing on to the south, and ascending the hills themselves, which in a less modest nomenclature than ours would be classified as mountains, and there, on the summit, lies before you a magnificent panorama of cities, vil- lages, mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, the ocean, - where one may con- template with reverence the works of the Creator, the intelligence of man, the life and growth of society, and the events of history which have tran- spired in successive generations, within the bounds of the horizon.
Nor is the natural beauty of this township confined to such favored sites as these, but it is distributed among our farms and along our roads. I have seen the artist sitting by our longest brook, which rises in the Blue Hills, and, flowing through the Hobart woods, falls into the Neponset, sketching the overhanging branches, the old trunks, and the flowering meadows by its side, and placing on canvas beauties of which we live alto- gether too unconscious. Coming at the close of day from the railway station to my home, with the twin churches before me and the Blue Hills
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OTHER TOWN BUILDINGS.
in the background, looking westward I have often paused to gaze on sun- sets as finely colored as any I have ever seen on Italian skies. We have, indeed, villas and lawns which art has constructed and spread out, but, better still, we have retained the primitive forest, where woodcock, par- tridge, quail, and rabbit still linger; we have highways not too broad and lined with graceful elms; we have still, and long may we retain, that freshness of nature which makes the charm of Milton as a home and place of rest. If some lover of nature gifted with imagination, like Wordsworth, who glorified with sentiment the Lake district of England and peopled it with ideal forms, shall ever be born or come to live among us, he will find all about him food for his contemplative spirit and poetic genius.
For nine years the New Town-Hall has met the wants of the town in a satisfactory manner. It is equally well adapted to the town-meeting, which lies at the foundation of all genuine repub- lican government, and to the social company, which contributes in like measure to the unity and happiness of the people.
Its solid walls, heavy roof-trusses, and general aspect of com- pleteness and durability seem to indicate that it was planned to last, and to meet the wants of the town for a century to come ; but the crowds of voters that already fill the seats and pack the aisles at our March meetings plainly show that the projectors of this model Town-Hall made at least one mistake.
MEMORIAL TABLET.
Underneath the open archway of the hall, between the heavy oak doors, is erected a monumental slab of gray marble, bearing the following inscription : -
NON SIBI SED PATRIAE.
THE TOWN OF MILTON HAS ERECTED THIS TABLET IN MEMORY OF HER CITIZEN SOLDIERS WHO DIED IN DEFENCE OF THE REPUBLIC. 1861 1865
LIEUT. JOSIAH H. V. FIELD LIEUT. STEPHEN G. PERKINS LIEUT. HUNTINGTON F. WOLCOTT
GEORGE O. BAXTER GEORGE F. BENT
DANIEL V. HOYT
ISAIAH HUNT
WILLIAM BOLE
SAMUEL HUNT, JR.
WILLIAM F. BRIGHAM
ALBERT B. MARTIN
AMOS H. BRONSDON
THOMAS B. MERRILL
GEORGE W. BURDITT
CHARLES H. MOULTON
PATRICK DUNICAN
NATHANIEL T. MYERS
JOHN SCOFF
N. STANLEY EVERETT EBENEZER FIELD GEORGE W. HALL, JR.
EDWARD SHANNON CHARLES H. THAYER
GEORGE E. VOSE
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
MILTON LIBRARIES.
MILTON SOCIAL LIBRARY SOCIETY.
A Library Society was established on Brush Hill, Milton, in June, 1792. The same was incorporated agreeably to an act of the General Court, under the title of the "Milton Social Li- brary Society," April 3, 1800. We give below brief extracts from the constitution of the society : -
We, the subscribers having formed ourselves into a society by the name above mentioned do agree to the following articles herein expressed, or further regulations that may be hereafter adopted by a majority of the pro- prietors.
ARTICLE 1. There shall be annually holden on the second Monday of April, a meeting of the proprictors at the Brush Hill school-house in Milton at six of the clock afternoon to choose the following officers by ballot, &c.
ARTICLE 7. The time for the delivery of books shall be on the second Mondays of April, July, October and January at six of the clock in the afternoon ; - cach member shall return all books taken from the library at or before twelve o'clock at noon on said days; if any member shall detain a book beyond the limited time, he shall not be allowed to take any other book from the library until satisfaction is fully made to the society ; and he shall also be subject to a fine of six per cent. on the prime cost of the book or books, for the first day, and also six per cent. on the prime cost for each so detained for the remaining quarter.
This library continued in existence for twenty-seven years, and for most of that time contributed largely to the literary wants of the community. Funds for the supply of books were derived from contributions, assessments, loans, and fines, and the list of works was both ample and choice. Although it was started at Brush Hill, being located at the house of James Foord, near the head of Robbins street, and received its chief patronage from that section of the town, yet the leading citizens from all parts of the town joined in it. There were sixty pro- prietors, among whom are the names of Gov. E. H. Robbins, Hon. John Ruggles, Col. William Taylor, Dudley Walker, Ezra Coats, William Pierce, Jason Houghton, Caleb Hobart, Samuel Gulliver, Rev. Dr. Gile, and other citizens, representing every section of Milton.
About the year 1814 it was removed from Brush Hill to the house of Dr. Benjamin Turner, on Canton Avenue, now owned by Mrs. Eldridge ; interest in the enterprise began to flag, and it was decided by a majority of the proprietors to wind up the concern.
The corporation was dissolved, and the books were sold at public auction at the tavern of Major Atherton, Dec. 3, 1819.
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MILTON LIBRARIES.
The whole amount of sales was $214.28 ; deducting cost of sales, $13.40, there was left the sum of $200.88 to be divided among sixty proprietors, giving to each $3.33}.
The records of this society, in the original manuscripts of its secretaries and treasurers, are before me at this writing. They will be deposited in the Milton Public Library, fitly represent- ing the progenitor of that valued institution.
Nineteen years later was formed
THE LADIES' CIRCULATING LIBRARY OF DORCHESTER AND MILTON.
The special purpose of this society is shown in the preamble of its constitution.
To diffuse the taste of literary pursuits, to encourage mental cultiva- tion, and to enlarge the sphere of social enjoyment, by rendering accessible the standard works of genius, and adorning the wayside with the flowers of literature, the undersigned ladies of Dorchester and Milton have deter- mined to establish a circulating library to be owned and conducted accord- ing to the rules and principles hereinafter prescribed.
ARTICLE 2. Location. - The library shall be kept at some place in the village of Dorchester and Milton commonly known as the Lower Mills, the place to be fixed, and, if need be, changed by direction of the government.
ARTICLE 3. Admission of members. - Any lady residing in the towns of Dorchester and Milton, or the vicinity, may become a member of the asso- ciation by subscribing to these articles of agreement prior to the organiza- tion of the government.
ARTICLE 7. Terms of subscription. - The use of the Library shall be common to the associates and all other persons who may be approved by the government, according to the usages of Circulating Libraries; to wit, by an annual subscription which shall secure the right to take out one or more books at a time, or by the payment of a specified fee for the use of each volume for a given time. The rates of subscription and the amount of the fees shall be established by By-Laws, and may be varied from time to time by an alteration of the By-Laws if it shall be found expedient.
June 21, 1838, the following ladies met and organized them- selves into a society : L. B. Baker, H. Baldwin, C. Sumner, P. Rowe, Lucia P. Brown, M. Codman, Eliza Glover, Lucinda Baldwin, Mary Morton, Mary B. Churchill.
This library was organized just at the time to meet a decided want of the community, and at once became useful and popular. For most of the time it was kept in the building of Deacon Martin, near the bridge, a position central and easily accessible to both towns. It started with a full supply of standard works in science and literature, while the fresh issues of travels, poetry, and choice fiction were always found on its shelves. This library continued in full and successful operation for upwards of thirty years. The opening of Milton Public Library in its
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
immediate vicinity, and the Dorchester Branch of the Boston Public Library on the other side of the river, brought its former usefulness to an end, and its stock of books was distributed by a fair and equitable division between the two towns; those assigned to Milton being placed on the shelves of the Public Library.
MILTON AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY.
An Agricultural Library of several hundred volumes was established in Milton about twenty-five years ago in connection with the formation of a Farmer's Club. For a time this club held monthly meetings in the Town-House for the discussion of topics relating to practical farming. These meetings were often attended by good audiences of men and women, who became deeply interested in the essays and discussions. The library was kept at the Town-House for the benefit of the members of the club. Soon after the Milton Public Library was opened, by vote of the Farmer's Club the Agricultural Library was transferred to its shelves, and now forms a valuable portion of the works on this subject in our Public Library.
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