USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Templeton > The story of Templeton > Part 2
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especially with wood. Now, Colonel Leonard Stone one day in January, 1822, was drawing to the parsonage some of his nice hard wood. It was a good ox load; two cords or so. As he was going across the common with it, his brother, Colonel Ephraim, caught sight of him from the store, and was sur- prised at such a great load. 'Hello!' says he, 'why don't you take your minister a load of wood while you're about it?' 'Now, look here,' said Colonel Leonard, 'I've been sawing out lumber down't the mill, and there's any quantity of slabs. I'll give the minister as big a load as you can take.'
Colonel Ephraim was a man for fun. He instigated the townspeople to take hold with him and accept his brother's challenge. First, they made the sled. Long trees were cut for the runners. These were made thirty-odd feet long, and set eight feet apart. The body of the sled projected two feet over the runner on each side. Thus the sled would hold twelve regular cords at one layer. There were two tongues, one in front of each runner. On the appointed day, the men and the oxen from all over town came to the meeting place. The sled was taken to the saw mill and backed up against the great pile. On went the slabs with a will. Colonel Leonard Stone stood by laughing, cheering, urging them along. When they had got on as much as they thought would do, they hitched up the team. One hundred and sixty oxen, four abreast, found it easy enough to pull. They had to go round through Baldwinville, because there was not room at the Otter River bridge for the sled to turn in. When they had got up on to the level ground above Baldwinville, they stopped and un- hitched. Then with their every-day sleds they went back to the mill to bring more slabs and pile them on the big load. This they kept up till there were no more slabs. Forty cords lay piled up on that sled. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
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The next morning came the rest of the journey 'up in town'. The school children were let out to see the great sight go by. One of them, to whose home it was going, said it looked as big as a house. It lay loaded for quite a while out by the parsonage; and people came from near and from far to see it. It kept Mr. Wellington in slabs for years to come. When the great sled was taken to pieces some of the timbers were used in building Mr. Winch's barn, and may be seen there in the framework until this day."
In 1811, the present First Parish Church building was erect- ed. The history of the churches will be found in a special chapter under that title.
Though the Revolutionary War was over and the Colonial period at an end, the construction of Colonial houses still went on.
Mrs. Myra Paine, a resident of Baldwinville, when she was over 100 years of age, dictated some of her memories from which I quote: "After the log-cabin days great-grandfather built a fine frame house of the early construction, with great beams and timbers that have been found only in the primeval forest. A chimney as large as a good-sized room, fireplaces in all the rooms and the kitchen the central meeting place. The brick oven was always used for the Saturday baking. Corn, rye and wheat were used on the farm, and a few bushels of wheat were ground as needed for home use. The meal and rye were sifted for the brown bread, and the beans, pies and pudding prepared for the baking. First a wood fire was built in the oven, after which the ashes were drawn out with the long-handled flat shovel and the oven carefully swept and then it was filled with good things to bake, enough, it was hoped, to last a week. (An old fashioned fireplace and tin baker will be found in the Narragansett Historial Building.) There was very little sugar, tea was not sweetened, and coffee was sweet-
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ened with molasses which was bought by the barrel. Linen and woolen cloth was made in the home and the children were delighted when the tailoress came in the fall bringing with her the tailor's great goose (an iron used in pressing heavy cloth). She cut and made all coats and suits for the family and remained as a guest in the house until all was finished."
Articles produced in the home took on a little more color and gaiety. Bags and purses were knitted with beads made in beautiful designs. Watch chains were woven seven yards long. Fruit and flowers were made in wax and put in frames as were also hair wreaths. Samplers, with their designs of birds, family crests and coats of arms were interesting productions. Little girls made samplers, working in mottos as a help to their right conduct. Here is a verse found on one of these samplers: "
is my name
Lord quiet my heart that I may do thy will And fill my heart with Such convenient skill, As will induce to virtue Void of shame
And I will give the glory To thy name. When I was Young and in my prime
You will see how well I spent my time,
And by my sampler You may see What care my parents
Took of me."
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The following words were found on a sampler worked by Abigail Hatch, mother of Mrs. Elizabeth Parkhurst:
"We are three little sisters all equally fair, With handsome bright eyes and thick beautiful hair; We live near the river, with father and mother,
But we have not as yet any dear little brother."
The women knitted constantly; some of them knitted even while walking. Mrs. Ezra Baker, who lived in what is now West Gardner Square, in the days when a part of the land was an apple orchard, used occasionally to spend the day with her son, Joel, and his family, who lived in Templeton on the South Road, near Cook Road. Starting very early in the morning, she would walk from West Gardner to South Templeton, more than five miles, knitting as she went. As she also knitted industriously all during her day's visit, she had accomplished much by supper time.
Mrs. Timothy Kneeland, who lived in that part of Temple- ton which is now Gardner, was a very enterprising woman. One night after her family had retired, she had ten yards to weave to complete the web. The cloth was an order for a customer, and being in want of money, she labored through- out the night and finished the work at dawn.
In those days, all food was cooked in the home, and it wasn't unusual, in haying time, for the woman of the house to use a barrel of flour in a week. All cooking was done in a wood-burning stove. In the winter time it was hard to keep the bread dough warm enough so it would rise. This was sometimes accomplished by placing the bread sponge on a chair in the kitchen, placing a lighted lantern underneath and wrapping the whole thing in a clean, new horse blanket. In some households, the sponge was placed on a heated freestone, wrapped in a red table cloth.
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The early settlers had a prejudice against destructive animals, and in early times a bounty was offered for killing them - 34 cents for each old crow, 17 cents for each young one (1797). Later, (1801) a bounty of 25 cents for old hen hawks, and 121/2 cents for young ones were offered. In 1783, Templeton offered 40 shillings for each full grown wolf's head. There was no bounty for bears, though they did exist here in the early days. On the Hubbardston Road, there is an authen- ticated wolves' den.
The men worked also in the evening, carving on wood and making brooms for barn use as well as for the house. They even made huskmats and other useful articles. One man who lived in the town of Winchendon on the boundary line of Templeton, and whose affiliations and interests were in our town, was a wood chopper, trapper and hunter. In his lei- sure moments he wrote poems and had them published in a little volume. Here is a stanza from one of his productions, called "Here and Now."
"Others may sing of the sweet by and by In the beautiful isle of the blest Where all tears are wiped from the weeping eye And the weary soul may rest; But I will sing of another land Not far, far away, but near, The very spot where my feet now stand In the beautiful now and here."
Because these women were frugal and saving and loved color, the making of patchwork quilts become a pleasurable occupation. They gave their patterns interesting names, such as "Job's Troubles", "Crow Foot", "Rose of Sharon", etc., and so the pieces of calico and glazed chintz found their way into these coverings.
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The "quilting bees" were social events. The energetic women gathered at the house where the quilt was to be made and worked diligently all the afternoon around the quilting frame, where fine stitches and lively gossip mingled. Then in the evening men - the husbands and the lovers, joined the party, for supper, around the long table. This consisted of cold meats, baked beans, brown bread, hot rolls, preserves of some kind, cake, cookies and pies and of course tea and cider. For these suppers, Mrs. Wellington, the minister's wife, made the cookies, for this was her specialty.
She was a little woman but an excellent cook. She did her baking in the old brick oven and, as you know, it con- tained no thermometer to indicate the temperature. In order to know if the degree of heat were right for the baking, she would put her hand and part of her arm into the oven and keep it there while she counted sixty. If, after that time, the hand was beginning to burn, she knew that the temperature was right for the baking. All the time she was counting, she hopped up and down; as the hand grew hotter the faster she jumped, but she never removed her hand until the 60 counts were made. To return to the quilting party; after this bounti- ful repast, came an evening of singing and games. At ten o'clock the party ended, and then came the pleasure of "See- ing Nellie Home".
For pleasure also were the "Husking Bees" and always the dance hall was a popular place. The grandmothers and great grandmothers gave us lovely pictures of themselves, with their elaborate gowns of brocaded satins and silks, hair dressed high at the side, the fascinating long curls; at the back, the high comb and flower tucked in to give them charm as they danced the minuet.
The children played games with marbles and jackstraws and out-of-doors they rolled the hoop.
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As Mrs. Paine states, "it was a busy life and a happy one. Perhaps it did not always bring wealth, but it did bring com- petence, comfort and good health and an appreciation of the simple things of life."
While the men of this period were building roads and ex- ploring through the township, they often made discoveries, and one was the finding of a cave, in the southern part of Partridgeville, near the Hubbardston line on Mine Hill. (See section on East Templeton)
The hill yields sulphurate of iron in large quantities. It is imbedded in loose graphite and with care beautiful speci- mens may be produced." Who knows, perhaps some day valuable ores may be found.
As we glance around the common now and along the various roads leading from it and see almost entirely resi- dential houses, it is difficult to realize that this was once a center for many shops and places of industry.
The store building now owned by Leonard Brooks was once a long, low structure. John Bigelow kept clocks in the north end, a shoe shop was in the south end and in between a variety store.
In 1829, Colonel Artemus Lee built the present building. The original one was taken down and used in the construc- tion of the house on the Wellington Road, occupied for many years by C. W. Upham. Where the new school building now stands was once a large stable for horses and carriages. Across the street, on the site of the Templeton Inn, was the old hotel, with its spring floor and dance hall and broad ve- randa in front. In the first years of this inn the town did not receive mail oftener than two or three times a week. The early records of the town show that Thomas Wilder was appointed postmaster on July 1, 1802.
The house owned and occupied by John Brooks was once
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a tavern run by Francis Twichell, father of Miss Hattie Twichell whom many now remember. This tavern also had a dance hall.
The Narragansett Historical Building was once a store kept by John Stiles and later by Ephraim Stone.
In the next house, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. William Hawkes, was found Franklin Lamb's boot shop and also in the same building was Lovell Walker's law office. It might be interesting to note the wording of one of his wills. Here is a part of one: "The twenty-eighth day of September, 1805. In the name of God, Amen. I, John Cobleigh of Templeton in the county of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts. Yeoman, being disordered and weak in body, but perfect mind and memory, and apprehending the time of my continuance in this Life to be very short do make and ordain my last will and Testament".
Then after "resigning his soul into the hand of God", he makes his bequests: "Impris, I give unto my much beloved wife, Mary Cobleigh, one cow to be kept or another in the Room of that, by my son-David Cobleigh during the life of my wife, and I give to her all my household furniture, further- more I devise and appoint that my beloved wife together with my daughter, Mary, have during life the use of the East front Room in my house and all those accommodations in the kit- chen and cellar, at the well and around the house which she shall need. I also appoint that she be supplied with all ar- ticles in sufficient quantity necessary for her support and comfort in Health and in Sickness". In like manner he wills his farm property to his son and to his daughter, Mary, also a cow.
A furniture shop was located where our present library building now stands, managed by Benjamin Hawkes, and another tavern in Mr. Charles Dewey's house.
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In the vacant house beyond lived Dr. Sabin, the second min- ister of the Trinitarian Congregational Church.
On the corner of the Otter River road was Mr. Chamber- lain's harness shop. At Rollin Johnson's house, Mrs. Richard- son kept her famous school for girls. On the site of the Lane house was the carriage shop.
Then farther on, the old red blacksmith shop under the horse chestnut tree, built by Asa Fessenden. Sometimes forty horses were to be seen awaiting their turn to be shod. Peter Thomas was the smith. Next to the blacksmith shop was the Jones Carriage Shop, which later was moved to the Otter River road and is now occupied by Russell Leland.
At the corner of the Athol road, the large brick house owned by Elsa Stone was a private school in which Jacob Batchelder taught. It also had a dance hall, and a store in the basement.
In traveling along the Baldwinville road on the way to Baptist Common, which was at this period a center for sev- eral industries, there will be found on the left-hand side, about a mile from the common, a cellar hole which was once the site of a log house occupied, tradition states, by a witch. This witch did not meet the fate of the Salem witches, but was allowed to live. Here is the story: "When this witch took her daily walk, she was not troubled by being accosted, for the very. sight of her bowed figure in the distance, leaning upon her staff, was sufficient to drive every man, woman and child within doors. Over each door of the neighborhood houses was suspended a horseshoe which was supposed to be a protection from witches", as the following incident discloses:
"In those days there were no matches, and fires in the huge fireplaces were carefully covered each night that there might be coals to kindle a fire the next morning. If it went out during the night, a trip had to be made to a neighbor's house
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and coals brought back to rekindle it. Sometimes a candle in a portable lantern was used. One morning during a pouring rain, the fire in the witch's house went out. She went to the nearest neighbor's house to borrow some coals. It was raining so hard the neighbor reluctantly asked her to come in, while he got the coals. She tried several times but could not enter despite all they could say or do. It was the horse- shoe over the door that prevented her entrance. After that exhibition, the price of horseshoes increased through the re- gion.
The fate of the witch is not known, but tradition states that she disappeared. The neighbors declared they saw her one night flying high in the air with almost incredible velo- city, astride the broom stick. Even her cat, after perching like a coal-black shadow on the ridgepole of the old house, dis- appeared, and silence brooded over the place ever after."
Baptist Common in those early days was a center of indus- tries and settlement of families. The Baptist Church was lo- cated there for over 40 years. Louis Brown's house was once a tavern, and there were a store and cabinet shops.
On the Athol road, there were a tannery, funeral parlors, carriage and harness shops; and by the pond a sawmill and furniture shop. In the house occupied for many years by the Hadleys lived the Goodrich sisters, Eliza and Sarah, Temple- ton's famous miniature painters. A number of Sarah Good- rich's portraits are now to be found in the Historical Building; while several miniatures by Eliza and one by Sarah are on exhibition at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester.
On the Gardner road, in the little white house once owned by Mrs. Hemenway, was Wait's Hat Shop, which formerly stood on the opposite side of the road. This was one of Templeton's important industries. In 1786, when the high- crown poke bonnets were the fashion, these straw hats were
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very popular. The process of making straw hats was quite intricate, from the unthreshed wheat stacks to the finished product.
The dealer collected the straw from the farmer's barn floor, gathered the straw together and combed it with a small iron- toothed rake to get rid of the haulon and then made the straw into bundles of 50-112 pounds. The straw in those bundles was stripped and cut off just above the knot, leaving the straws about 10 inches in length. The next process was the bleaching. The straws were wet and put in a box in which a cup of molten sulphur was placed and the box then closed. Sometimes the straws were dyed black or blue. After the bleaching or coloring, the straws were graded, shaken loosely over a series of wire sieves varying in degrees of fineness. The straw was then examined and the specks removed, after which the strands were tied up in bundles, ready to be taken to the houses to pleat. Mrs. Almira Parkhurst was the first to learn this process. Children were taught to do this plait- ing often before they were four years old. Boys and men also did this work. Hand sewing of the plaited straw was another home process. Some of the hats were made from the wood of the willow trees, while the wood was green. Hats were stiffened by a bath in a solution of gelatine and blocked on models. (Machinery used may be seen in the Narragan- sett Historical Building.)
In 1825, John Boynton started the manufacturing of tin ware and five years later David Whitcomb became his partner in this business.
Ethel M. Eaton wrote an article for the Christian Science Monitor which reveals something of the history of this in- dustry and from which we quote: "Back in 1740, William and Edward Pattison came from England and settled in Con- necticut at Berlin, not far from Hartford. There they started
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a business of making tinware, a trade they had learned in the old country. These brothers Pattison imported sheets of tin from England at Boston and carried it by horseback to Con- necticut. It was pounded into shape by wooden mallets over anvils. The finished articles were packed into a basket with which the brothers travelled over the nearby countryside, find- ing a ready market in cottage and farmhouse. When the in- dustry outgrew the basket stage the goods were put into large panniers on the back of a horse, a method later supplanted by the two-wheeled cart and finally by the tin peddler's wagon". One of these wagons can be seen in our Narragan- sett Historical Building.
Some years ago, when writing programs for the radio, I included one, entitled "The Tin Peddler" which I am in- serting here.
THE TIN PEDDLER
One day in the spring of 1942, when a group of workmen were digging a ditch on the Hubbardston Road, they found a large quantity of pieces of tin. The deeper they dug, the more they found.
The Boy Scouts were active in collecting scrap for war purposes. When they heard what the men had found, they rushed to the scene, but were doomed to disappointment, for the entire quantity of tin was covered with iron rust and good for nothing. This discovery gave rise to much wonderment to the men who were digging the ditch, for they did not live in the town and knew little of its history.
Presently, along came one of the older residents, Robert Bourn, who stopped to look at the discovery. The leader of the workmen said: "Why should such a quantity of scrap tin be found in this particular spot?"
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Mr. Bourn pointed to the large structure opposite and said: "That building, now known as the Grange Hall, was once a tin shop."
"Do you mean the tin utensils were actually made there?" said the man.
"Yes," said Mr. Bourn", and the house beyond was where some of the pieces were japanned."
"Was it a large business?" asked the man.
"Over 100 years ago the making of tin utensils was one of the town's leading industries. Twenty-five tin carts went out into the neighboring district to sell the wares," Mr. Bourn explained.
These peddlers returned from their routes every Saturday night, creating great local interest. At the Tavern, in the blacksmith's shop or around the box stove at the store, the peddlers told stories and related items of news that they had picked up while away on their routes. Mr. Bourn's father, when a young lad, went on a trip with one of these peddlers. As they rode along, the boy discovered that in the cart were pieces of rope. To his inquiry as to the use of them, the ped- dler replied: "You wait and see." Sometime before entering a village, if a dog appeared, the peddler would catch him and tie him to the cart. After a goodly number had been collected he would gather up his reins and drive briskly into the village, the dogs barking furiously all the way. All this commotion attracted attention, so there was no trouble in selling the tinware. After leaving the village, the peddler would release the dogs and then do the same thing before entering the next town. Such was the advertising method in the early part of the 19th century. These tin carts were crude affairs; one-horse vehicles, supported by thorough braces- the body hung on straps instead of springs, and painted a dull red.
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But in later years, when Charles Roundy succeeded to the business, he built a new cart, much larger than the old ones, with springs instead of straps and painted a bright red. This cart was drawn by a beautiful pair of roan horses, named Romeo and Noble, and they were decked out with silver- mounted harnesses. Mr. Roundy wore an expensive broad- cloth suit, made by Macullar and Parker of Boston, and the famous derby hat. The children were greatly excited when the cart was seen coming down the street. They were ever ready to give the alarm. "Oh mother, mother, Mr. Roundy is coming!" Then out of the houses would come the house- wives, bringing their huge bags of rags ready to exchange for the bright new tin ware: pans, pots and kettles, dippers, cups and plates. Sometimes peppermint sticks for the children and other attractions were found in that magic cart.
In the early days, the tin business was carried on by two men, John Boynton and David Whitcomb. They made much money in this industry and gave of their wealth to worth while purposes.
John Boynton, after retiring from business, went to Wor- cester to live. While there, he had a dream. He fancied he saw, in his home town, a large building, with letters over the door which read "School of Technology." All his life, he had felt the need of mechanical training. He wished he might do something about establishing a school for boys who were seeking such knowledge, and which he hoped might be built in Templeton. He went to see one of the leading. ministers of the city and told him about his dream-desire.
"That is strange," said the minister. "Not long ago my friend, the blacksmith, came to me and said that he had had a dream and wished that a school of that kind might be built".
The minister suggested that the two men of vision pool their resources and see what could be accomplished. "But,"
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he said, "place your school in Worcester and not in a little country town."
The blacksmith had little money, but he had a wealth of ideas and a good supply of mechanical equipment. John Boynton had the money.
Thus out of the dreams of a blacksmith and a tin peddler, The Worcester Polytechnic Institute was founded. And money earned in the old town by making tinware was put to a worthy use.
Through the town (which covered about 20,000 acres) there were found rivers, brooks, and ponds, furnishing water power for sawmills and other industries. Otter River, at the north end, Burnshirt River, Trout Brook and Beaver Brook. From these names one might infer that otters, beavers and trout were plentiful in these early days, though Snake Pond might suggest creatures not any too welcome.
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