USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Westborough > The history of Westborough, Massachusetts. Part I. The early history. By Heman Packard De Forest. Part II. The later history. By Edward Craig Bates > Part 30
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The town has attended to many of these matters, but the society has found ample field for its exertions. The reports of the treasurer show that over two thousand dol-
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INSURANCE ORDERS.
lars has been expended for improvements. Among the society's most important work have been the setting out of nine hundred shade-trees in different parts of the town, the erection of a fountain in front of the Soldiers' Monu- ment, the grading and fencing of the triangles at the junc- tion of School and South Streets and at the junction of Church and Milk Streets, and the placing of drinking- fountains in the Square and at the head of School Street. Perhaps more important than all is its success in arousing interest in the subject of local improvements and in stimulating citizens to individual exertions.
The past few years have seen the organization of many insurance orders. At present six of them are represented in Westborough, as follows: -
Parkman Council, No. 297, Royal Arcanum, instituted in 1879, has sixty-eight members.
Westborough Lodge, No. 91, Order of United Working-men, instituted October 26, 1887, has fifty members.
Chauncy Lodge, No. 130, Fraternal Circle, instituted July II, 1889, has thirty-five members.
Westborough Lodge, No. 24, Order of Ægis, instituted Septem- ber 21, 1889, has about twenty members.
Arcadian League, No. 11, American Protective League, insti- tuted in 1889, has one hundred and six members.
Mount Pleasant Commandery, No. 13, Order of the Golden Grail, instituted June 14, 1890, has forty-four members.
There was a post of the Grand Army of the Republic, known as John Sedgwick Post, No. 21, G. A. R., organized in Westborough, September 24, 1867. It was named in honor of the gallant General Sedgwick, Commander of the Sixth Corps, who fell at Spottsylvania. The Post existed about four years. On June 18, 1881, the present orga-
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
nization, Arthur G. Biscoe Post, No. 80, G. A. R., was formed, with fifty-one charter members. It was named in honor of a comrade in the ranks, afterwards a prominent -Westborough lawyer, who served in Company E, Fifty- first Regiment, M. V. M. The membership of the Post is one hundred and twenty-three. It has excellent rooms in the new Grand Army Block on South Street. Its relief fund amounts to about twenty-three hundred dollars.
The Woman's Relief Corps, an auxiliary organization, was formed January I, 1887. Its membership is about one hundred.
The Frank L. Stone Encampment, No. 76, Sons of Veterans, named after Dr. Stone of Westborough, was organized May 12, 1887. It has a membership of thirty-six.
Of the "labor organizations" in Westborough, the largest, oldest, and most prominent is the Westborough Assembly, 4,191, Knights of Labor. It was organized September 9, 1884. Its membership at one time was over seven hundred, but at present it is less than three hundred. The Assembly has over a thousand dollars in its treasury. Connected with the Knights of Labor in a league, offen- sive and defensive, is the New England Lasters' Protective Union. This organization has a strong and well-organized branch in Westborough. It was formed August 10, 1887, and has nearly a hundred members. A branch of the Boot and Shoemakers' International Union, which has at present two hundred members, has recently been organ- ized. There has been comparatively little trouble in Westborough, it may be well to add, between the manu- facturers and their employees.
The Young Men's Christian Association was organized
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RESIDENCE OF J. A. FAYERWEATHER.
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BOARD OF TRADE.
August 8, 1888, with the following officers: Winfield P. Porter, president; G. Milton Fisher, vice-president ; Charles B. Tewksbury, secretary; and Charles H. Howard, treasurer. Its object, as stated in the constitution, is "the improvement of the spiritual, mental, social, and physical condition of young men." Winfield P. Porter is the general secretary. There are over a hundred members. The Association has pleasant rooms in Grand Army Block. It has a library of two hundred and fifty volumes. The reading-room is well supplied with papers, and the amusement room with games. The Association con- ducts a course of lectures and entertainments each winter. Among the presents which it has received is the income of $1,000 from the late William R. Gould. The Aux- iliary Association, which was formed May 24, 1889, has one hundred and seventy members.
The Westborough Board of Trade succeeded the Busi- ness Men's Association, organized May 10, 1886, which had failed to meet the expectations of its founders. It was formed January 27, 1890. Its object, as stated in the constitution, is as follows : -
" The object of the association shall be to encourage and pro- mote the growth of manufactures and other industries within the town of Westborough ; to acquire, preserve, and disseminate in- formation regarding the industrial advantages, opportunities, and developments of the town and vicinity ; and to assist in all lawful and honorable ways in the cultivation of a spirit of harmonious progress, and a disposition to intelligent co-operation on the part of all citizens for whatever will conduce to the general interest and welfare of the community."
The Board of Trade has eighty-three members. Its officers are as follows : President, Melvin H. Walker; vice-
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
president, Bowers C. Hathaway; secretary, Eugene E. Dunlap; treasurer, Frank V. Bartlett. There are stand- ing committees on manufactures, railroad matters, trade, reception, soliciting and advertising, and sanitation.
The Westborough Historical Society is one of the re- cent organizations. It was incorporated February 28, 1889, with twenty-three charter members. The present membership is about forty. The following officers have served since the Society was organized: President, John A. Fayerweather; vice-president, Benjamin B. Nourse; secretary and treasurer, Charles S. Henry; directors, William T. Forbes, Edward C. Bates, and Abbie F. Judd. The object of the organization is "the investigation of matters of local history, the collection of objects of his- torical and scientific interest, and the maintenance of a library." The Society has already acquired many inter- esting relics, and as soon as it has secured proper quarters it is expected that its collection will show rapid growth.
CHAPTER VIII.
1876-1890.
WATERWORKS. - PHENOMENA. - NEW BULDINGS. - OTHER IMPROVEMENTS.
T HE most important of the public improvements which have marked the past fifteen years was the introduction of Sandra water in 1879. For a dozen years or more, the need of a better supply of water, especially for fire purposes, had frequently been brought to the attention of the town; but the first record of any public action is in the report of a town-meeting held August I, 1870. The tenth article in the warrant read as follows :
" To see if the town will take any measures to obtain water from Mr. Christopher Whitney's hill, or any other source more practi- cable, for the use of the village, or act anything thereon."
The matter was referred to the engineers of the fire department, but no further action resulted. The burning of Union Block, April 14, 1872, again brought the subject into prominence. At a meeting held May 20, 1872, there was an article in the warrant to see if the town would take measures to introduce water from outside the centre of the village. It was voted that the selectmen, - Daniel F. Newton, William M. Child, and B. Alden Nourse, - with Charles H. Pierce and Sherman Converse, be a committee to investigate the subject. At an adjourned meeting, June
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
17, the selectmen were instructed to petition the Legisla- ture at its next session for authority "to bring water from any of the streams or ponds within the limits of the town ; " and the committee previously chosen were authorized to expend a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars in further investigation.
The petition of the selectmen was duly presented to the Legislature, and an Act was passed, - approved March 15, 1873, - granting the desired authority.
The committee chosen May 20, 1872, issued a printed report, in which the whole matter of a water-supply was thoroughly and ably discussed. The engineer, Charles H. Pierce, recommended Sandra Pond and Jackstraw Brook as the best source of supply. So strong was the opposition at the town-meeting, April 11, 1873, that be- sides accepting the Act of the Legislature, no action was taken. At a later meeting, July 2, - shortly after the dis- astrous fire on South Street, - the town chose as water commissioners Reuben Boynton for three years, Sherman Converse for two years, and Josiah Childs for one year, and instructed them to prepare and report a plan for a better supply of water for fire purposes. At an adjourned meeting, July 30, the commissioners submitted two plans. Neither was satisfactory to the town. The wisdom of intro- ducing water for fire purposes only was generally doubted, and received little support from the commissioners.
During the two following years various plans were pro- posed, but no important action was taken until July 8, 1875, when the broad question of a water supply for all purposes came before the town. After another long dis- cussion, the commissioners - Reuben Boynton, Sherman Converse, and George N. Smalley - were instructed to
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WATERWORKS.
procure the services of a competent engineer for making further surveys and estimates. At an adjourned meet- ing, August 4, the commissioners presented the report of Phinehas Ball, of Worcester, the engineer whom they had chosen. After considering all the plans, Mr. Ball recom- mended Sandra Pond and Jackstraw Brook, -just as Mr. Pierce had done in 1873. The expense, according to his estimate, would be about $40,000. The report of the commissioners came before the town for action August 21; but a motion to construct waterworks in accordance with Mr. Ball's recommendations was laid on the table by a decisive vote.
For three years the town took no further action. The subject, however, was frequently discussed, and its import- ance became more and more manifest. In 1878 there was a favorable opportunity for carrying out the project. Iron and other materials were exceptionally low, and labor was plenty. At a town-meeting held September 16, it was finally voted, on motion of George O. Brigham, that
"The water commissioners be and they are hereby authorized and directed to contract for the works necessary to supply this town with water from Sandra Pond, so called, substantially in accordance with the plan of Chas. H. Pierce, civil engineer, which I herewith present, with such changes and modifications as may in the progress of the work appear advisable, provided the sum stipu- lated to be paid for the same shall not exceed the sum of $21,000, exclusive of land and water damages, and that said water commis- sioners have full power to take and hold according to law, for the town of Westborough, any and all lands, waters, and water rights which may be necessary for the construction of said works, and to enable the town to obtain the full benefit of the 77th chapter of the Acts of the Legislature for the year 1873, and that said com- missioners have power to perform such other acts in the name of
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
the town as may be necessary to obtain the benefit of said chapter, and that the bonds of the town of Westborough, payable in thirty years from this date, with interest payable semi-annually at the rate of five per cent per annum, to be denominated 'Westborough Water Bonds,' signed by the town treasurer and countersigned by the majority of the selectmen, be issued to an amount not exceed- ing in the whole $30,000, to pay for the construction of said water works and land and water damages connected therewith, in accord- ance with the provisions of said 77th chapter, and the said water commissioners and the town treasurer be a committee for the sale of said bonds, and that said committee be hereby authorized to sell said bonds in behalf of the town at public or private sale at such times, in such amounts, and for such prices as the said com- mittee may deem expedient."
Mr. Pierce's plan, as stated in his subsequent report to the town, was as follows : -
" This scheme contemplated putting Sandra Pond in suitable condition for present use as a reservoir ; constructing a gate chamber ; laying a leading main from the reservoir to the junction of South and School Streets, and supply mains in South Street, and in East and West Main Streets, the latter extending from High to Church Streets; and setting the proper number of hydrants upon the contemplated mains. All appurtenances necessary to efficient service, both immediate and future, were to be provided ; and the mains were to be of sufficient capacity to meet the respec- tive demands upon them whenever the supply should be generally extended. In short, the proposed work was to be considered and treated as a part and basis of a future completed system, however disproportionate to immediate requirements it might seem to be."
The pond chosen for a reservoir is situated about two miles from the Square, in the southern part of the town. It was formerly flowed sufficiently for mill purposes. The present upper basin served as a cranberry-meadow. Many
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RESIDENCE OF MRS. H. K. TAFT.
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WATERWORKS.
persons, who "always lived in the neighborhood of the pond," foreboded lack of water in dry seasons; but the engineers made no mistake in promising an abundant supply. The pond is fed from a watershed of six hundred and seventy-five acres, providing in the dryest seasons 275,000,000 gallons of water. Its height above the level of the Square is one hundred and thirty-eight feet.
The work of putting the pond in proper condition began at once, and on November 23 the reservoir was ready to receive water. The remainder of the work was postponed until spring. On January 16, 1879, the contract, covering material and labor for mains, gate, hydrants, and other appurtenances, complete and ready for service, - includ- ing a guarantee to maintain the integrity of their work for one year, - was awarded to R. D. Wood & Co., of Phila- delphia. The amount to be paid was $14,550. The con- tractors began work April 28, and June 20, when water was let into the mains and the hydraulic-pressure test applied, the undertaking was practically accomplished.
The works had been built at a peculiarly favorable time. The cost for material and labor a year later, according to the commissioners, would have increased the outlay forty per cent.
Under authority granted by the town March 3, 1879, the water commissioners bought the Sandra farm, con- taining about thirty-one acres, for $2,374. The water privileges bought amounted to $4,248.75 ; and the amount of damages awarded was $14,689.28.
Some fault was found with the quality of the water for a year or two after the completion of the works. In the summer of 1880 it was unfit for use. By vote of the town, the commissioners drew off about four fifths of the
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
water, and cleaned the basin and margin of the pond. The water was again bad during the hot weather of 1882. The commissioners consulted a civil engineer, Percy M. Blake, who recommended the building of a dam between the upper and lower basins. The same remedy was again suggested for the scarcity of water in 1886. Phinehas Ball was the engineer consulted. In accordance with his plans, a dam was built between the two basins, raising the water in the upper pond five feet above the former high- water mark. The result, with reference both to the quan- tity and quality of water, has been a complete success.
The pipes have been extended in all parts of the town. The mains are twelve miles in length, and the number of service-pipes - supplying houses, factories, and the rest - is over six hundred. There are seventy-nine hydrants. The total cost of the water works is about $195,000; the income has been about $75,000. The net cost is therefore about $120,000; but this sum by no means represents the value of the water works in convenience, in protection from fires, and in the prevention of disease.
On September 6, 1881, the people of New England enjoyed, or at least experienced, a repetition of the phe- nomenon which had so impressed their forefathers a cen- tury before. I refer to the "yellow" day. There had been great forest fires to the north and west, and smoke again wrapped this section of the country in a dense cloud. The sun rose like an orb of bronze. Early in the fore- noon a strange darkness - not merely making the sur- roundings dim, but giving everything a ghastly, lurid hue - began to settle upon the earth. The effect in Westborough is described in the following contemporary account, clipped from the Chronotype : -
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THE " YELLOW " DAY.
" The dark day of 1780 has been often spoken of, but the dark day of 1881 must take its place with it, and pass into history as a phenomenon of our time. So dark was it that in this and other towns hereabouts the schools were dismissed, and business in the manufacturing establishments quite suspended. Lamps were lighted, which had the appearance of electric lights. All Nature seemed to put on a new dress, and in some instances the scene was enchanting. The air was so still that hardly a leaf moved, and the atmosphere was very oppressive. The heavens seemed to have donned a new dress, of a greenish yellow, as far as the eye could reach, without a break to relieve the monotony. Astonishment was pictured on many a countenance, and people were out in all directions, beholding the sight with great wonderment. Various were the interrogatories as people met on the street, the more common being, 'What does all this mean?' 'Did you ever see the like before?' 'Is the world coming to an end?' etc. No fully satisfactory answer has been given to the question, 'What caused it?' Many theories are advanced, but the one generally believed is that it was because of extensive forest fires in Canada. It is known that on that day a conjunction of the planet Uranus and the sun took place, and some attribute it to that fact. Others thought the comet's tail had switched itself defiantly into the world's face. The day following was one of intense heat, - such heat as has rarely been experienced in this latitude. Whether the one had anything to do with the other, is a question for scientists to decide. If so, then the smoke theory would have to stand aside. But whatever was the cause, it was a remarkable sight, such as has not been witnessed before by the oldest inhabitant, and probably will not be again for a long time to come."
There have been other occurrences in recent years that deserve mention. On August 10, 1884, an earthquake, which jarred the whole Atlantic coast, gave Westborough a perceptible shake. In the fall of the same year - owing, many scientists affirm, to volcanic dust from the eruptions at Krakatau, near Java, during the preceding spring -
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
there was a period of the most gorgeous red sunsets. On March 12, 1888, and the two following days, occurred the great blizzard, which interrupted communication by rail or wire and caused great damage to property and business. It was even more disastrous than the great storm of March 21, 1868. The latter is chiefly memorable in West- borough from the fact that it required six yoke of oxen to drag a hearse, mounted on an ox-sled, from the poor- farm to the cemetery in the village.
These storms, as well as the earthquake and the sun- sets, were shared with the outside world; but on October IO, 1884, the people of Westborough had a phenomenon of their own, which produced hardly less wonder than the more general events. It is remembered as " the dark morning." A large area of sprout and woodland in Cedar Swamp had been burning for several days, and one of its results was thus described by the Chronotype : -
"The smoke from the fires was more or less disagreeable dur- ing the early part of the week, particularly to sleepers with open chamber windows ; but the height of the calamity was reached on Wednesday morning, when even the earliest risers found the vil- lage enveloped in smoke, accompanied by a light fog. The sun rose and shone on other points in regal splendor, but nearly the whole of our village was even then in total darkness. The old saying, 'Could n't see my hand before me,' was almost literally true, for a person five feet away was wholly concealed by the dense smoke. A familiar voice a few feet distant would tell that an acquaintance was near, but no one in sight. Milkmen were un- able to find their customers, tin-horns were used for safety-signals, but few teams ventured out, and even at a walking gait collisions occurred. One man lost his team, being unable to find the spot where he had hitched his horse, and another led his horse to an- other man's barn on East Main Street, thinking it was his own,
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"THE DARK MORNING."
that stood half a mile away. Another could not find his boarding- house in going from his lodging rooms, and still another was lost in front of the Westborough Hotel. The engineer of a morning down-train said he entered the fog and smoke at the first railroad bridge above the village, and he then 'slowed up' and ran slowly until passing into clear atmosphere at Cordaville. The smoke- cloud extended to the north end of the village, to the Blake Place on West Main Street, and on East Main Street to Selectman Harrington's. At 8 o'clock A. M. the mists began to roll away, and at 8.30 the bright sunshine and a summer atmosphere heralded one of the most delightful days of the season. Throughout the darkness, in rooms with closed windows, the morning papers could be easily read without artificial light. With all the great difficulty of locomotion outdoors, there was much fun in the novel situation of things, and no accidents occurred."
Early in the morning of April 5, 1886, occurred the only disastrous fire since the introduction of Sandra water. Owing partly to the headway which the fire had obtained, and the combustibility of the buildings, and partly to the smallness of the pipe which fed the hydrants in the neigh- borhood, the large shop on Milk Street and the Catholic church were burned to the ground. The loss was esti- mated at $42,000.
The shop, which was occupied by George B. Brigham & Sons, and Smith, Brown & Co., boot and shoe manufac- turers, was owned by the Westborough Factory Associ- ation. Strenuous efforts were at once made, and the present building, occupied by Gould & Walker, was soon erected in its place.
The destruction of the Catholic church hastened the erection of the present edifice at the corner of Main and Ruggles Streets, where a lot had been purchased in 1873. The rectory had been built some years before, and the
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LATER HISTORY OF WESTBOROUGH.
members of the church had long looked forward to the building of a new house of worship. Shortly after the fire, more land was purchased, and the present gymnasium was fitted up for a temporary chapel. On August I, 1888, the corner-stone of the new church was laid, with appropriate services. Bishop Keane, rector of the Ca- tholic University at Washington, delivered the sermon. Through the untiring energy of the Rev. John J. McCoy and the faithful support of his parishioners, the building was completed in the spring of 1889. The ceremonies of dedication - which took place May 30, the Feast of the Ascension - were conducted by the Rev. Thomas Griffin, chancellor of the diocese, assisted by a large number of the clergy. The Rev. Father Griffin, with the Rev. Edmund D. Casey, of Williamstown, as deacon, and the Rev. Patrick Boyle, of Beverly, as sub-deacon, celebrated the solemn high mass. The master of ceremonies was the Rev. J. F. Redican, of Cordaville. The sermon, a forcible and effec- tive discourse, based on the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, was delivered by the Rev. Francis McCarthy, S. J., of New York. The church is a beautiful structure. Its design and finish are admirably set forth in the follow- ing description from The Messenger : -
" The church, though in part a wooden structure, and on the outside running to simple architectural lines, is yet in its interior finish a model of massive strength, combined with exquisite har- mony of color, tone, and decoration. Indeed, so striking is this prevailing tone of harmony, so perfect is each effect in keeping with every other and with the whole, that one feels forced to bor- row the words of Sir Walter Scott and describe the result in its still, harmonious beauty as being like frozen music. The church is finished in Romanesque style, the prevailing characteristic of which
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ST. LUKE'S CHURCH AND RECTORY.
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NEW CATHOLIC CHURCH.
is the rounded arches as distinguished from the pointed arches of the Gothic style. Two rows of massive square columns divide the church into three aisles. Each column is surmounted by an ela- borate capital somewhat resembling the Corinthian in ornamenta- tion ; from each of these spring four arches, those of the centre aisle rising to an imposing height and giving as one enters the edifice an appearance of strength and grandeur that is particularly striking and appropriate. In the spaces on the ceiling between the main arches are paintings of great beauty and unusual artistic merit, representing in the order named : the Annunciation, the Nativity of our Lord, the Adoration of the Wise Men, Christ bless- ing Little Children, the Crucifixion, and the Ascension. In the sanctuary on either side of the high altar are beautiful life-size paintings of the Last Supper and the Marriage Feast of Cana of Galilee.
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