USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Templeton > The story of Templeton > Part 15
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ELECTRIC LIGHT
At the town meeting in March, 1906, it was voted to build a municipal light plant to supply the four villages with electric light and power. C. Aylmer Smith of Baldwinville, Charles H. Leath of Otter River and Charles Ingalls of East Templeton constituted the committee appointed to arrange for this construction. After receiving several bids, the con- tract was awarded to Fred T. Ley & Co., of Springfield, Massa-
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chusetts, whose bid was $21,500. T. Russell Robinson of Bos- ton was engaged to draw the plans.
The town appropriated the sum required for the construc- tion of the plant. The work was started in November of that same year, and in February, 1907, the contract was com- pleted and the electricity turned on. At two special meetings, one in June and one in September, the town appropriated $3,500. to build extensions to the line.
Herbert Lowell of East Templeton was the first superin- tendent, serving four years. In 1911, Edward Waite was appointed. During his management, a number of extensions were added to the lines and many new customers. Mr. Waite served for 13 years, and following him, Walter P. Abbott held the position for six months.
On October 24, 1924, Lorey A. Tourtellot was made man- ager and is still in charge (1946). Mr. Tourtellot has built a number of miles of new extensions, so that today the light and power lines extend to the town line on nearly every road in the town of Templeton. At present (1946), there are 1200 customers and about 400 street lights. The number of Kilo- watts purchased from the Gardner Electric Company in 1946 was about 1,700,000.
All the extensions built in the last few years have been paid for out of the earnings of the plant; and the money appro- priated by the town for construction has been paid back into the town treasury. The light and power rates are the lowest of any town within a radius of 15 miles. The present mem- bers of the board are: Walter Kenney, William Paine and Leon Cutting, all of Baldwinville.
TELEPHONES
The New England Telephone and Telegraph Company started to operate around 1878. The first telephones were
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installed in Baldwinville in 1884; the very first one in Louis Leland's store, where persons receiving calls were notified by a messenger. During that same year, 12 phones were placed in various offices and homes. As the number of phones began to increase, a small switchboard was installed in the store which, after a few years was moved to the second floor where it was operated for some time by Mr. and Mrs. Milton Gleason; then Marion King took the position. Later, Miss King purchased a house on Memorial Street, and there the company installed a new and larger switchboard which ne- cessitated an assistant.
In 1940, the Telephone Company erected a new building on the north side of Memorial Street, near the church, and in- stalled the latest type of dial system. Baldwinville was the first village in this part of Worcester County to have the dial system.
Throughout the 62 years, there has been a steady increase in the number of phones installed. In 1946, there were 708. The Baldwinville exchange serves Otter River and Temple- ton Center, as well as its own village.
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FIRST FEDERATED CHURCH, TEMPLETON
Churches of Templeton by
FLORENCE PARKHURST WHITE
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CHURCHES OF TEMPLETON
A S already stated in the "Story of Templeton", the early 1 settlers were righteous men, feeling the need of spiritual guidance. Thus, it was natural that they levied a tax of four shillings (about one dollar a year) on each right of land, to provide preaching, and when there were twenty families or so, meetings were held in private homes.
Dr. Joseph Lord from Pequog, now Athol, was engaged to conduct the services. He came every Sabbath with gun over his shoulder as a protection from Indians. This was in the autumn of 1753.
The first "meeting-house" as it was then called, was built in 1755 and made from chestnut trees taken from where the "Common" is now located. It was erected southeast of the present First Parish Church building, and John Brooks of Sterling was the builder. The main entrance faced what is now Wellington Road. If the sign, marking its location, were in exactly the right spot, it would stand in the middle of the present road.
The main floor of the structure was 40 x 50 feet. At the north end was the high pulpit with the usual "sounding board", and the deacons' seats directly below; in front of the pulpit were free seats for old people - the men on one side the women on the other - placed according to their rank. There were galleries on the sides rising one above the other. On the south end were the singers' seats. The central space within was filled with ranges of long seats, men and women on opposite sides, but finally a committee was chosen "to seat the meeting-house," and by degrees the spaces were dis-
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posed of for pews, excepting the two rows in front of the pulpit. The seats in the gallery were free. The aforesaid committee had a delicate task, since it was their duty to see that seats considered most eligible, or of most dignity, were assigned to the largest tax-payers, and so on in graduated rank. Finally, an article was put in the town warrant, asking the town to dignify the seats by determining the rank, but the article passed in the negative and the committee was obliged to resume the difficult matter. This "seating of the meeting-house" was first done in 1765, again in 1770, 1778 and 1797.
As the church had been built by a tax on the Proprietors' lands, it was considered just that the privilege of pews should belong to them. They were expected to build them them- selves, and a committee allotted a row of pew spaces around the wall of the house to eighteen Proprietors. In 1766, it was voted to allow two Proprietors to make windows in their pews, at their own expense, and to "leave the meeting-house decent."
The house was long left unpainted, as the expense seemed too great, but in 1783, it was voted to paint "the color of Leominster." The last service in this meeting-house was held September 1, 1811. Mrs. Elizabeth Leland, the eldest of Dr. Wellington's children, remembered attending this service when a very small child, wondering why the old ladies cried! The building was moved to the site where now (1946) stands the home of Mrs. Annie Scollay Barstow and became the Pub- lic Town House for thirty years. When it was taken down, the timbers were so sound that they were used in building the Scollay house.
The church was organized in 1775, and Reverend Daniel Pond was ordained as minister. It was called the First Church of Christ (Congregational). A covenant was drawn up, signed
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by the twelve founders: Daniel Pond, Joshua Hyde, Josiah Wheat, David Clark, Charles Baker, David Goddard, Jacob Byam, Phineas Byam, Zacchias Barrett, Elias Wilder, Thomas Dewey and John Chamberlain.
The covenant was the same as that used in the Athol church and quoting from Reverend Edwin G. Adams in part - "they professed their determination, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, to walk together, as a Church of Christ, in mutual charity and obedience to gospel rules and the use of Christian privilege."
The church assumed at its formation no party or sectarian name - Congregational means simply the form of church government by the congregation. Supreme authority is vested not in a Pope, nor in a House of Bishops, nor in a Presbytery, and each congregation is independent of any other.
The first minister, Reverend Daniel Pond, a native of Wrentham and a graduate of Harvard in 1745, remained only four years when he gave up the ministry and became a teacher in West Medway. An amusing story is told at the time of his ordination. Among the articles furnished for the occasion was a pound of chocolate and since it was Mr. Pond's favorite drink, he asked Mrs. Byam, his hostess, to serve it at dinner, following the service. Mrs. Byam had prepared a boiled din- ner and with many regrets said, "I put it into the pot with the vegetables, and have taken everything out carefully, but nothing of the chocolate can I find."
It may not be amiss in these days of high prices to mention the cost of Mr. Pond's ordination. Phineas Byam's bill includes:
To the Council's horses 2 for 1 day -1 s.
3 horses part of a day -1 s.
To meat, 10 lbs. @ 2d per lb. -1s.8d.
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To my trouble making seats in meeting house - 2s 8d. While Zaccheus Barrett's reads:
To riding after a kettle -2s
To carting boards to the meeting
house from Mr. Cobleigh's and back -3s
To entertaining Mr. Pond's company,
4 men, 3 meals each -6s 5d.
Mr. Zaccheus Barrett's house was what we know as the Dolbear House. For the same occasion, Mr. Adams's history reads as follows:
4 pr. geese, 141/2 lbs. @ 21/4 per lb. .32
4 hens @ .08 per hen .32
1 bush. apples @ .09 per bush. .09
1 nutmeg .06
sugar was .12 per lb.
73/4 gals. rum @ 55 per gal. 4.25
7 1-3 lbs. tobacco @ 6 2-3 cts. per lb. .49
3 doz. pipes @ .05 per doz. .15
In those early days, a dense growth of trees surrounded the village. A little incident at that time is worth relating. It was the custom to hold two services, one in the forenoon and one in the afternoon. One Sunday after the second service, a mother discovered her little girl missing. All the townspeople hunted for many hours. At last she was found not far from the church, where the common is now located. This incident proves what was meant by the "forest primeval."
In November, 1760, Ebenezer Sparhawk, a young man of twenty-two years, came to preach as a candidate. On his journey by horseback from Rutland, via Barre, guided only by marked trees, he lost his way. Night approaching, with no habitation in sight, he fastened his horse to a tree and as the weather was cold, walked all night in a circle around the
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tree. When morning came, he went in the direction of the sun, finding himself only a short distance from the house of Deacon Wilder where he was to have been entertained for the night. This house is now occupied by Josiah Henshaw and his son, Charles. Mr. Sparhawk was ordained November 18, 1761, as the second minister of the church, in the house where he boarded, belonging to Zaccheus Barrett (later owned by John Cobleigh), and remained during his life, giving forty- four years of service.
He was dressed in the ministerial garb of that period, the ancient "small cloth" with bright silver knee buckles and the three-cornered clerical hat. He built the house on the Wel- lington Road now owned by Herbert Maynard (1946). He occupied it as long as he lived, when it was bought by his successor, Dr. Charles Wellington.
Mr. Sparhawk was twice married and had thirteen children. Some of his descendants, the Hawkes family, still live in this town. He was born in what is now called Brighton, Mass., and graduated from Harvard in 1756. He was settled at a salary of .66 lbs. 13 s.4d. which was equal to $222.22 with the amount of two years salary additional as "a settlement." This settlement he invested in 80 acres of land including the house lot on which he built. He died in Templeton November 25, 1805, aged 67 years.
On November 17, 1806, the First Parish engaged Dr. Charles Wellington as minister, and since he remained pastor for fifty years and senior pastor for four additional years, dying at the age of 81 in 1861, it may be of interest to learn something of his life and influence in the town.
Dr. Wellington was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, February 20, 1780. He was one of thirteen children of an upright and respected farmer. A graduate of Harvard in 1802, he received his degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1854. He
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was twenty-seven years old when called to the Templeton church. His salary was fixed at $500. per year with the amount of one year's salary as a "settlement." Cost of living had increased this amount, and probably went only as far as Dr. Sparhawk's meagre salary. In addition, he was to receive his yearly supply of wood.
Dr. Wellington was ordained February 25, 1807, and in June of that year, married Anne Smith of Boston, the ceremony taking place in that city. His daughter, Mrs. Anna Batchelder of Templeton, when 81, writes of the couple's start in their two-wheeled chaise, drawn by a sleek black horse, for their new home seventy miles away. "As the second day of their journey drew to a close, the dust-worn travelers were met by about forty parishioners from Templeton, which revived their spirits and greatly shortened the last ten miles; a bountiful supper provided the crowning touch of welcome."
The town at this time contained nearly twelve hundred inhabitants, scattered over the bleak hills. It meant long and tedious drives for the minister who was born a spiritual adviser and comforter. In those times, the minister was ex- pected to have oversight of the schools, visiting them at inter- vals and examining the teachers.
Dr. Wellington loved young people, followed their lives with interest and was especially desirous of leading them to a "higher plane of living." All this, with preparation of two sermons each week, filled every moment of his life.
"A man he was to all the country dear;
And passing rich with forty pounds a year!
But in his duty prompt at every call,
He watched, he wept, he prayed, and felt for all.
He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds and led the way." -Goldsmith
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One famous story of Templeton during Dr. Wellington's pastorate deserves to be told. "It became the custom in early times to appoint a day at the beginning of the year on which the minister's first supply of wood was delivered. Early in the afternoon might be seen long teams loaded with wood, coming from all directions, wending their way to the parsonage. Near the house, in confusion, were seen oxen and horses with men and boys in jolly good humor, unloading the donations, dis- cussing the number of loads, the largest and best, and prob- ably the stingiest; about twenty cords was the average supply. Then came adjournment to the house where abundant and appetizing refreshments were served by the grateful minister and his wife." As earlier related, a large load of forty cords of wood was delivered. "Dr. Wellington was never obliged to test the truth of the proverb, 'where there is no wood the fire goeth out'.
In 1811, the fourth year of Dr. Wellington's pastorate, a new church was built, (the present one) with a Christopher Wren spire, box pews, and high pulpit with a sounding board. Miss Mary Wellington Stone in her history of the church describes this new building:
"It was erected by Elias Carter of Brimfield and Jonathan Cutting of Templeton. At that time, it was considered the best meeting-house in Worcester County. The expense was met by the sale of pews. The latter were high backed with closing doors. The stairs leading to the high pulpit were enclosed, so when the minister entered the door at the foot, he disappeared until his head presently arose above, much to the edification of the children!"
As was the custom in most of the colonial churches, a sound- ing board hung over the pulpit. It is to be regretted that these early churches were not left as originally built, as in the case of the First Parish Church. Elias Carter was the son of a
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noted English church architect who came to this country and settled in Brimfield, Massachusetts. He inherited all of his father's drawings and specifications and in addition became a famous wood carver. The town of Fitzwilliam engaged the same men, Carter and Cutting, to erect an exact duplicate of the Templeton church.
By means of a parish tax, a bell was purchased in May, 1812, made by Paul Revere. Soon after being hung, it was found to be defective, and on December 14th of that year, a warrant was issued and agents chosen to bring suit against Paul Revere & Son as having delivered an "unsound" bell. Another was sent and allowance made on the first. In 1815, still another was purchased, making three Paul Revere bells. In January 1829, it was voted that a committee of three sell the old bell, buy a new one, and the amount expended was $313.30. Again in 1853, the latter was sold and a new one bought which still hangs in the belfrey with the makers' name -
"From Meneely, West Troy, N. Y. 1853."
Rules for ringing the original bell were strict, and the fol- lowing is taken from the old records:
"Voted that the following rules and regulations shall be observed by the person who shall hereafter undertake to ring the Bell and take care of the meeting-house in the First Parish, Templeton, viz: The bell shall be rung twice each twenty-four hours, for the space of ten minutes through the year, beginning precisely at twelve o'clock noon, and at nine o'clock at night, Sunday noons excepted. On Sundays, at nine and at fifteen minutes past ten o'clock in the morning and also before the public exercises begin in the afternoon, it shall be rung ten minutes, cease five and then be regularly tolled until the minister takes his seat in the pulpit.
The bell shall also be rung on all special occasions or public days, as Thanksgiving, Fasts, Lectures, etc., and the same regu-
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lations shall be observed as on Sundays aforesaid, when necessary.
At funerals the bell shall be regularly tolled for the space of fifteen minutes before the time set for the funeral and tolled again when the funeral procession arrives in sight of the Com- mon, until the corpse is interred and the mourners get out of the burying-ground.
The penalty shall be the forfeiture of the service for one month for any unreasonable neglect of the before mentioned regulations. He shall keep the doors of the meeting-house seasonably open and shut on Sundays and all other times when necessary for use of the Parish and be accountable to the Parish for any damage the meeting-house shall sustain through his neglect, to be ascertained in such way and manner, as the Parish shall think proper. The house shall be thoroughly swept, and the seats carefully dusted, at least once a quarter, and oftener if necessary.
In the winter season, the snow shall be removed from the door steps and about the doors, that passage in and out of the house many not be obstructed.
"Voted, to let out the ringing of the bell and care of the meeting-house until the first of March next, at auction, to the lowest bidder.
Benjamin Hawkes "bid off" the bell to ring and the care of the meeting-house for nine dollars, promising to be governed by the before mentioned Rules.
On March 2, 1812, Josiah Howe "bid off" the bell to ring and the care of the meeting-house until the first of March the next year for the sum of $24.75."
Older residents remember the bell being tolled with the number of years attained by the deceased.
Before an organ was placed in the church, Capt. Moses Leland played the bass viol as accompaniment to the choir.
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He lived in the west part of the town and rode to church in a one-horse chaise. He planned to arrive at the foot of the hill below the church just as the bell was tolling. Giving the reins to his wife, he tuned his viol to the bell, so when he entered the choir loft his instrument was in tune, much to the wonderment of the congregation.
The custom of ringing the bell every evening at nine o'clock was continued until 1867, when the present clock was installed in the belfry, being the gift of Joshua Bigelow of Boston, a native of Templeton. He was a son of John Bigelow, a clock- maker, who lived in the house now owned by Dr. P. J. Grant. His mother was a daughter of Capt. John Richardson of Revolutionary fame, and a sister of Mrs. Leonard Stone.
In 1832, Abel Sanger of Warwick, a native of Templeton, left $700. to the parish for purchase of an organ. William M. Goodrich, also a native, furnished an organ for $1,000. It was considered very fine and used in the church for nearly sixty years. Mr. Goodrich deserves more than a passing word, for few know his fame as an organ builder, together with his brother Ebenezer.
In a recent publication by the parish historian of Christ Church, Boston, Mrs. Mary Kent Davey Babcock, on "Organ & Organ Builders of Christ Church, Boston," is found valu- able information concerning this native of Templeton who was born July 21, 1777.
Mrs. Babcock writes, "His first knowledge of the organ was gathered when visiting a Mr. Bruce who had been assisting Dr. Josiah Leavitt of Sterling to construct a small organ of wooden pipes and on his return to Templeton he made one for himself. In 1805, he started a church organ which he finished and put up in 1806 for Bishop Cheverus for the Roman Catholic Church on Federal Street, Boston. He re- paired the organs in Kings' Chapel, Trinity Church and set
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up an English organ in St. John's Church, Portsmouth, N. H."
After carrying on alone, having retired from a Boston firm, his talented brother, Ebenezer, joined him for twelve years before commencing business with his brother-in-law Thomas Appleton. Ebenezer's first parlor organ is in the Narragan- sett Historial Society's collection, presented by a descendant, Miss Eleanor Whidden of Marblehead. William and Eben- ezer were brothers of the talented miniature painters, Sarah and Eliza Goodrich.
In Miss Ayars' book, "A Hundred Years of Music in America" she says, "During the time he continued in business, from 1805 to 1833, the year of his death, but three foreign or- gans were introduced into Boston, while his instruments be- came known throughout the whole of the United States."
The first organist was Leander Leland, husband of Dr. Wellington's eldest daughter, Elizabeth; followed by Almira Wellington (the latter's sister) who became Mrs. Joseph Baldwin. Then, Miss Margaret Leland, Leander's daughter, and Dr. Wellington's granddaughter, who played the organ for over thirty years. Robert Cobleigh, son of Marshall and Olive Cobleigh, was organist for nearly forty years, until his death August 10, 1930.
The present instrument, an Austin, was installed in 1903 and is the Sarah W. Higley Memorial Organ. Mrs. Higley died April 17, 1898, aged 83 years, leaving her entire life sav- ings to the First Parish. The cost was $3,000, and the organ is considered exceptionally fine by the talented musicians who have used it.
At the present time (1946) Dr. Wellington's great grand- daughter, Miss Elsa W. Stone, is organist and choir director. Five other descendents of Dr. Wellington are living in town.
Sextons have been: Thomas Appleton Fiske (grandfather of Henry Seaver), Vernon Miles, James Maynard, Lucius Green-
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wood, Robert T. Bourn, Alfred Christensen, H. Edwin Hawkes (1946) great grandson of Ebenezer Sparhawk.
In 1903, the Goodrich instrument was taken down and pre- sented to the Unitarian Church in Gardner. It was destroyed by fire on February 17, 1927. One of its pipes was salvaged and presented to the Narragansett Historical Society by Ernest Kendall.
The Goodrich organ was pumped by hand and for many years by Abel Hunt, faithful to his task. On one Sunday, Miss Leland, the organist, played a beautiful voluntary and many gathered about to express their appreciation. Abel stood near and went away muttering to himself, "Guess I make the music as much as Miss Leland. I'll show 'em who plays that organ!" The next Sunday during the anthem, Abel stopped pumping but the choir continued their singing. Not until Miss Leland got down from her stool and used her persuasive powers did Abel continue his pumping.
Several books of Psalms and hymns have been used in the church. The first were those originally used at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and introduced into the English churches in the reign of Edward VI. Their lines are rugged and uncouth, yet the pioneers loved them and it was a sore trial to some of them when the church voted to substitute Tate and Brady's Psalms with Watts' hymns. Dr. Wellington pre- pared a collection of about one hundred hymns, many of them in metres not found in Watts. Dr. Wellington was greatly interested in the part that music played in worship.
In the early days, a row of horse sheds was built on the south side of the First Parish Church. It was a long low build- ing with stalls on either side, large enough to accommodate both horse and carriage. The stalls were owned by the pew holders and cared for by them. This shed was a haven of refuge for the horses on a cold winter day after traveling sev-
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eral miles through deep snow and cold winds. Underneath the shed was a "pound", a place for stray cattle.
When Dr. Wellington's health began to fail, Rev. Edwin G. Adams, a native of Ashby, was installed as assistant minis- ter. Dr. Wellington continued as senior pastor until his death in 1861 at the age of 81 years. Mr. Adams remained until his death in 1877, celebrating just previously the thirtieth year of his "settlement."
Mr. Adams left valuable records of church history. Having a legal mind, he assisted the townspeople with their law problems and for many years served on the school committee. He and Dr. Sabin of the Trinitarian Church were firm friends and worked together for the good of the community. Their respective wives were equally beloved.
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