The story of Worcester, Massachusetts (1910), Part 6

Author: Oflynn, Thomas Francis, 1862-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Boston, Little, Brown, and company
Number of Pages: 216


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Quinsigamond Lake is about four miles long and extends from Lincoln Street to the town of Grafton. Its western shore is in Worcester and its eastern in the town of Shrewsbury.


Salisbury Pond lies between Institute Park and Grove Street.


HILLS


Asnebumskit Hill is the highest eminence in the vicinity of Worcester. It is on the main road to Paxton, about seven miles from the City Hall.


Chandler or Reservoir Hill is south of Belmont Street and is part of East Park. It is 721 feet high.


Green Hill is east of Lincoln Street at the end of Green Lane. It is part of the park system. This hill is 777 feet high.


Fairmount or Messinger Hill is north of Rural Cemetery and east of Grove Street. This hill was part of the land included in the bounds of the citadel built by the second settlers. It is 620 feet high.


LAKE QUINSIGAMOND


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Parks


Millstone Hill, north of Belmont Street, is 760 feet high.


Newton Hill, part of the park system, lies west of Park Avenue and is 672 feet high.


Oak Hill, between Bloomingdale Road and Plantation Street, is 700 feet high.


Packachoag, or Mount Saint James, where Holy Cross College is situated, is in the southerly part of Worcester and is 693 feet high.


Union Hill or Sagatabscot Hill, where Jonas Rice, the first permanent settler, lived, lies between Water Street and Graf- ton Street. It is 625 feet high.


Bancroft Heights, west of Salisbury Street, near Park Avenue. Height, 720 feet.


Bigelow Hill, Burncoat Street. Height, 725 feet.


Hancock Hill, between Salisbury and Forest Streets. Height, 780 feet.


Millstone Hill, north of Belmont Street. Height, 760 feet.


Mt. Ararat, south of Ararat Street. Height, 780 feet.


Parker Hill, Fowler Street. Height, 1,000 feet.


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Wigwam Hill, Plantation Street. Height, 560 feet.


Winter Hill, Grove Street, near city line. Height, 980 feet.


CEMETERIES


The first burial place in Worcester was on Thomas Street, where the schoolhouse stands.


A part of the common was used for buri- als up to 1824. In 1853 most of the bodies were removed and the headstones that re- mained were turned down and covered over. The inscriptions were copied by William S. Barton.


The Mechanic-Street burial ground was opened in 1795 and used until 1878, when all the bodies were removed. Isaiah Thomas was buried here.


The burial ground in East Worcester, known as the Pine Street Burial Ground, was opened in 1828 and used for about thirty years. The Norcross Brothers' Works and the Boston & Albany Railroad are on land formerly occupied by this ceme- tery.


The Catholic burial ground near Tat-


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Parks


nuck was opened in 1835, and discontinued in 1847. The inscriptions were copied by Richard O'Flynn. The bodies were re- moved a few years ago and interred in St. John's Cemetery.


Rural Cemetery was opened in 1838. The original tract was given by Hon. Dan- iel Waldo. This is a private corporation.


St. John's Cemetery is situated south of Cambridge Street and was opened in 1847.


Notre Dame des Canadiens Cemetery, in New Worcester, on Webster Street, is in- tended for the interment of French Cath- olics. It was opened in 1885.


Hope Cemetery was opened in 1852 and is owned by the city. This cemetery is sit- uated in New Worcester.


The Swedish Cemetery is in New Worcester, on Webster Street, and was opened in 1885.


CHAPTER XV


INDUSTRIES


MANUFACTURING


W ORCESTER is situated on the line of three great railroad sys- tems - the Boston & Albany, the New York, New Haven and Hartford, and the Boston & Maine.


It has the largest population of any man- ufacturing city in the world not on a water- way. The largest wire-making plant of the American Steel and Wire Company is lo- cated here, employing in its three immense mills 6,000 workmen. One thousand per- sons are employed in the envelope-making industry. There are 1, 100 manufacturing plants, employing 26,000 skilled mechanics.


The most important industry in the city is the manufacture of wire and barbed-wire fencing. This business was begun in 1831, by Ichabod Washburn and Benjamin God-


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Industries


dard in Northville, where they manufac- tured card wire and wire for screws. In 1835 the business was removed to its present location on Grove Street. The central plant was built in 1840 and the Quinsiga- mond works were opened about 1850. Here are manufactured telegraph wire, piano wire, and a great variety of iron and steel hawsers, cables and ropes. Many tons of copper wire are made for electrical pur- poses.


Next in importance comes the manufac- ture of looms. The Crompton and Knowles Loom Works are the largest of the kind in the world. Looms are made by this firm for the manufacture of worsteds, woolens, carpets, rugs, plush, duck, ginghams, silk, sheeting, print cloth and every type of tex- tile fabric.


The foundation of the business was laid by George Crompton in 1851 and Lucius J. and F. B. Knowles in 1856. In 1897 these two great establishments were consolidated.


Worcester manufactures more envelopes than any other city in the world. The United States Envelope Company controls the large factories formerly owned by Lo-


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gan, Swift and Brigham, the W. H. Hill Company, and the Whitcomb Envelope Company. There are several companies, independent of the U. S. Envelope Com- pany, manufacturing envelopes in Worces- ter.


Worcester has the largest carpet mill in the world controlled by an individual. This is owned by M. J. Whittall.


The manufacture of corsets is an impor- tant industry and gives employment to thou- sands of persons.


These Worcester industries are the larg- est of their kind in the United States: looms, valentines, emery wheels, envelopes, corsets, carpets, wire novelties, wire, wire springs, leather goods, paper-box machin- ery, card clothing, organ keys and reeds, paper-making machinery, lunch-wagons, textile machinery and skates.


It is the variety of its industries that has made Worcester famous.


Senator Hoar once said that within a radius of twelve miles of Worcester were projected more inventions and improve- ments contributing to the good of humanity than in any other portion of the world;


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strengthening his statement with reference to the cotton-gin of Eli Whitney; the lathe for irregular forms by Thomas Blanchard ; the sewing machine of Elias Howe, and the carpet looms of Erastus Bigelow.


These four men stand out preeminently from a large number of inventors and were noted benefactors of their race.


CHAPTER XVI THE CITY GOVERNMENT


W ORCESTER is divided into ten wards, and for convenience in voting, the wards are sub-divided into precincts.


The annual municipal election takes place on the second Tuesday in December.


The city government is made up of the mayor and the city council. The mayor is elected annually and receives a salary of $4,000 per year. The city council consists of the board of aldermen and the common council. Every ward in the city elects one alderman, and in addition there is an alder- man-at-large, who is elected by all the vo- ters of the city. Three councilmen are elected by each ward, the elections alter- nating, so that each member serves for two years. There are, therefore, in our city council eleven aldermen and thirty council- men who serve without pay.


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The City Government


In the school committee each ward is rep- resented by three members, the term of office being three years.


The heads of departments and city treas- urer, auditor, city engineer, city solicitor, messenger, trustees of Free Public Library, of funds, and of hospitals, are elected by the city council.


The mayor appoints the city physician, assessors, park commissioners, board of health, license commissioners, license board and chief of police, subject to the approval of the board of aldermen.


The school committee elects a superin- tendent of schools for a term of three years, and an assistant superintendent, teachers, and truant officers annually.


Worcester is in the third congressional district.


The first state senatorial district of Worcester County comprises wards four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten. The second district includes wards one, two and three, and the towns of Berlin, Bolton, Boylston, Clinton, Harvard, Holden, Lan- caster, Sterling and West Boylston.


On account of the large import trade,


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Worcester, as a convenience to her mer- chants, was made a port of entry. The custom-house is in the Post Office or Fed- eral building. The Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue at the Worcester Port of Entry, in his report for July, 1908, showed that 562 packages from all parts of the world were received in Worcester, indicat- ing the diversity of the city's business in- terests.


CHAPTER XVII OLD TIME TAVERNS - INTERESTING HOUSES OLD TIME TAVERNS


I 'N 1674 Thomas Browne, who had set- tled on the road between Brittan Square and the head of Lake Quinsigamond, petitioned that he be allowed " to furnish Travelers with wine and strong waters." He was granted the license and became the first tavern-keeper in Worcester.


When a second settlement was attempted, Nathaniel Henchman was licensed for one year, " to keep a house of entertainment for Travelers at Quinsigamond."


In 1719 Captain Moses Rice built a tav- ern on the site of the Walker Block, corner of Main and Mechanic Streets. He pros- pered here for twenty-three years. The estate passed into the possession of Judge Chandler, and he built a fine mansion. Mr. Chandler was a Tory, and his loyalty to the King resulted in his banishment and the


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confiscation of his property. His loyalty to the Crown and excellent character earned for him the title of " the Honest Refugee." In 1785, Ephraim Mower purchased the property, and the Chandler mansion was converted into the Sun Tavern. This hotel existed until 1818, when the old mansion was removed to Mechanic Street to make way for the United States Hotel. This was built by William Hovey and kept by him and others until 1854.


The second tavern of Worcester stood on the site of the present Bay State House, and was kept by father, son and grandson for about ninety years. Deacon Daniel Hey- wood, the "Father of the Town," estab- lished the tavern in 1722, at the time when the town was incorporated.


The Stearns Tavern was the third, and stood fronting on Main Street, very nearly where the Lincoln House now stands. The estate to which it belonged comprised eighty acres, extending westward from Main to Sever Streets. This tavern was opened in 1732, and Captain Stearns kept it for forty years. His widow managed it until 1784.


.


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Old Time Taverns


In the period preceding the Revolution this tavern was the favorite resort for the Royalists. Here they prepared and signed the famous Tory Protest of 1774. This pro- test was a remonstrance against the proceed- ings of the patriots, and was entered upon the town records. The town clerk was obliged to blot this out of the records, and to be sure that it could not be read, the patriots forced him to dip his fingers into the ink and rub them over the words. The page can still be seen in the town records.


On July 24, 1776, a number of the patri- ots called upon Mrs. Stearns and requested permission to take down the sign of the " King's Arms," as the hotel was called. She cheerfully agreed to their request and the offending sign was removed.


When Mrs. Stearns died, the estate was purchased by William Sever. Hon. Levi Lincoln married his daughter, Penelope Winslow Sever. On the site of the hotel Mr. Lincoln built a mansion, which today forms the main part of the Lincoln House.


From 1754 to 1774 Captain John Curtis kept a tavern on the Ephraim Curtis estate on Lincoln Street.


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Captain Israel Jennison had an inn from 1782 to 1815 on Lincoln Street, where now stands the City Almshouse.


On the site of the Sargent Building, at the junction of Main and Southbridge Streets, Captain William Jones known as "Tory " Jones, kept a tavern from 1770 to 1777. It was here that two British of- ficers were sent by General Gage to get information regarding roads and positions for fortification.


The headquarters of the patriots was in a tavern on Lincoln Street, just north of Lincoln Square. At this time, the tavern had as a sign a portrait of John Hancock, and was known as " The Hancock Arms." During Shays's Rebellion a part of the rebel army was sheltered here.


The Lincoln House


The Lincoln House was originally the mansion house of Governor Levi Lincoln, who built it in 1812 and lived there until 1835, when he erected the house on Elm Street. This street was opened by Gov- ernor Lincoln, about 1834. In 1835, the mansion was sold and converted into a hotel.


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Old Time Taverns


It was called the Worcester House. Later, stores were built in front of it, and the en- trance was changed to Elm Street. The hotel was then called the Lincoln House.


The Exchange Hotel


The Exchange Hotel was built in 1784 by Nathan Patch. In 1807 it passed into the hands of Colonel Reuben Sikes of Con- necticut, the celebrated stage-coach propri- etor. He managed the hotel until his death in 1824.


This was the leading hotel of the county, and the centre of the arrival and departure of the different stage coaches connecting Worcester with other sections of the coun- try. Distinguished travellers, judges and others connected with the courts, stayed there. General Washington took breakfast in this hotel, when passing through Worces- ter in 1789, and Lafayette rested there, on his way to Boston in 1825 to attend the dedication of Bunker Hill Monument.


The Waldo House


The main part of the present hotel was originally the Daniel Waldo mansion. This


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stood on Main Street, on the site of Me- chanics Hall. It was moved back in 1845.


INTERESTING HOUSES


" The Oaks "


The Dr. William Paine house, "The Oaks," on Lincoln Street, opposite Forest Avenue, was built about 1778.


Timothy Paine and his two sons were Loyalists. He was one of the Mandamus Councillors appointed by the King in 1774. The patriots obliged him to resign his office and to read his resignation publicly on the Common. His son, Dr. William, left Worcester before the Revolution and served in the war as apothecary and physician to His Majesty's hospitals in America. After the war he returned to Worcester and prac- tised his profession. He was the first vice- president of the American Antiquarian So- ciety.


The Hancock House


One hundred and fifty years ago one of the best residences in town was the Han- cock mansion. This house stood on the grounds of the late Philip L. Moen, on Lincoln Street.


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Thomas Hancock, who married Lydia Henchman, granddaughter of Captain Daniel Henchman, owned this property. At his death, it came into the possession of his nephew, Governor John Hancock. The governor never occupied this house as a permanent residence, using it merely as a summer home.


It was next used as a fashionable hotel for judges, court officers and others who did not care to live in the town hotels. In 1781 Levi Lincoln bought this property and lived here until his death in 1820. In 1846 it was removed to its present location, on the corner of Grove and Lexington Streets.


The house on Lexington Street, next to the Hancock house, originally stood on Salisbury Street. It belonged to the Walker family and was built about 1740. Mr. W. R. Hooper purchased it, removed it to its present location, and built on its old site, the building which formed the nucleus of the Highland Military Academy.


The Salisbury Mansion


Still standing on its original site, is the old Salisbury mansion, erected in 1770, by


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the first Stephen Salisbury. It is now occu- pied by the Hancock Club, and presents about the same external appearance it did a century ago.


The Samuel Chandler House


This house stands on the northeast cor- ner of Belmont Street and Lincoln Square. Originally it was the mansion house of .Samuel Chandler. When Daniel Waldo, Sr., came to Worcester in 1782, he lived there. His son, Daniel Waldo, Jr., made it his home until 1806, when he erected the building which stood on the site of the Cen- tral Exchange, corner of Main and Ex- change Streets.


The Trumbull Mansion


This was originally the Court House and stood on Court Hill. It was built in 1751 and removed in 1801 to Trumbull Square. The mansion was torn down a few years ago to make room for the Kelly-Delehanty blocks. The lumber was carefully handled and the house was rebuilt on Massachusetts Avenue.


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Old Time Taverns


Isaiah Thomas's house is still standing in the rear of the Court House.


In the diary of Christopher C. Baldwin is the following entry under date of May 28, 1829: -


" Ichabod Washburn raises his house without using any ardent spirits. Believed to be the first instance of the kind in New England." This house is now standing on the corner of Summer and Arch Streets.


The mansion on the southeast corner of Main and Madison Streets was built by Gov. Alexander H. Bullock about 1850. After living there a short time he moved to his new home on Elm Street.


The house on the northeast corner was built about the same time for a sister of Governor Bullock.


The building now standing on the corner of Main Street and Allen Court was the residence of Mr. Charles Allen. His land extended from Park Street to land south of Allen Court, and included the land upon which the Sargent Building now stands.


Rev. John S. C. Abbott, the historian, lived in the brick house standing on the corner of Lincoln and Frederick Streets.


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Mr. Abbott was the first historian to gain celebrity while a resident of Worcester, though his chief fame came after he had removed from the city. He came here in 1830 as pastor of the Calvinist, now the Central Church, and remained five years. He produced many books which gained him a wide reputation, the most remarkable of which was his " Life of Napoleon Bona- parte," first published in Harper's Maga- zine.


The house at the corner of Lincoln Street and Keefe Place is known as the " Conant House." It belonged to Mr. Edwin Co- nant, a lawyer. Later, he built the mansion at the corner of Harvard and State Streets. This he bequeathed to the Worcester Nat- ural History Society. Mr. Conant gave to the town of Sterling, the original Sterling Inn and the Public Library Building, and provided for a course of lectures on scien- tific subjects.


Nearly opposite Linwood Street, on Lin- coln Street, there are two long brick blocks. The northern one has been raised and en- larged; the other remains in the original form, with entrance doors at the ends. In


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Old Time Taverns


this building Miss Ward, daughter of Arte- mas Ward, kept a primary school. The only remaining mile-stone in Worcester stands on the sidewalk in front of this house. It bears the following in- scription : -


44 Miles From Boston 50 To Springfield


The house on Lincoln Street, directly op- posite Garden Street, was the Governor John Davis mansion. There Charles Dick- ens and his wife were entertained in 1842.


On the northwest corner of Summer Street and Lincoln Square stood a large stone building, used as a county jail. This was built in 1788, and it was supposed at that time that it would be ample for two or three hundred years. In less than fifty years it was torn down. A house of correc- tion was built in 1819, on the site of the


present county jail. In the records of the old jail may be read this pathetic entry - " Discharged by Deth, April 1, 1790." This record applies to that noble patriot,


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Colonel Timothy Bigelow, who was com- mitted to prison for debt, February 15, 1790. In this old jail some of the English prisoners of the War of 1812 were confined.


On the south side of Lincoln Square were the workshop, blacksmith shop, iron works and trip hammer of Timothy Bigelow.


NOBILITY HILL


Nobility Hill began at a point opposite Park Street on Main Street and ended at a point opposite Burnside Court. It was similar to Court Hill but shorter.


On the site of the Taylor Building, oppo- site Park Street, stood the residence of Judge Ira M. Barton. This house was built by Sheriff Gardiner Chandler. The estate was sold to R. C. Taylor in 1870 and taken down to give place to the Taylor block.


Next south came the estate of Dr. Joseph Sargent. This house was cut in two and moved to Hammond Street. Nobility Hill began between the Barton house and the Sargent house. The Anthony Chase estate extended from the Sargent place to Chat- ham Street. After the hill was cut down, the house was turned around to bring its


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Old Time Taverns


entrance upon Chatham Street. It is now used as the annex to the Y. W. C. A. build- ing.


Mr. George T. Rice lived in a house at the south corner of Main and Chatham Streets. The property was sold to the Ro- man Catholics, and the house was taken down. St. Paul's Church was built upon the rear end, covering also the rear portion of the Earle property.


Next to the Rice house came the Towne house, owned by John Milton Earle, editor of " The Weekly and Daily Spy." Di


Park's house came next. This was taken down. Last on the hill was the Rev. Dr. Austin's house, occupied by Samuel H. Colton.


CHAPTER XVIII


HISTORY AND DERIVATION OF NAMES OF STREETS


M AIN STREET is the oldest thor- oughfare and has been used con- stantly from 1713. The Jo Bill Road, or Institute Road as it is now known, is one of the early roads, as are Front, Sum- mer, Lincoln, Salisbury, Pleasant, Green and Grafton Streets. Plantation Street re- ceived its name at the time Worcester was called Quinsigamond Plantations.


Front Street was laid out in 1785; Me- chanic Street was opened in 1787 and ended at the cemetery; Thomas Street was given to the town by Isaiah Thomas in 1806; School Street was laid out by Geer Terry in 1814 and was at first called Terry Street.


Clarendon Harris published a village di- rectory and a map in 1829, and on this map the names of only fifteen streets are given


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Names of Streets


- Salisbury, Main, School, Thomas, Cen- tral, Mechanic, Front, Franklin, Grafton, Green, Water, South (now Park), Church (now Salem Square), and Pleasant, Lin- coln Square and Washington Square. Pearl, Lincoln and Market Streets were shown, but were not named.


Foster, Elm, and Exchange (formerly Market) Streets were opened between 1830 and 1840.


In many cases we can trace the deriva- tion of the names of streets, but, unfortu- nately, a large number of streets were named without any regard to good taste and common sense.


Family names appear in such streets as Lincoln, Paine, Sturgis, Dean, Sever and Harrington; historical names in Lafayette, Lamartine; Revolutionary names in Con- cord, Lexington, Prescott, Hancock, and Otis; literary names in Milton, Dryden, Edgeworth, Hemans, Bryant and Whittier; names of early settlers in Henchman and Curtis.


Governor Lincoln named Elm, Maple, Chestnut, Cedar, Walnut, Linden and Oak.


Mr. Henry Chamberlin named Wood-


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land, Birch, Maywood, and Hawthorne Streets.


In the Dictionary of Worcester, written by Franklin P. Rice, the derivation of 200 streets is given, and with Mr. Rice's permis- sion we present a few of the most important ones :


ABBOTT


Ebenezer E. Abbott


ADAMS


Adams family


ALDEN


John Alden


ASHLAND


Home of Henry Clay


AUSTIN . Rev. Samuel Austin


BARCLAY


Barclay the Quaker


BEACON


Beacon Street


BELLEVUE Named by George Jaques


BENEFIT Benefit to Worcester Academy by sale of land


BLACKSTONE


Blackstone Canal


BLAKE


Mayor James B. Blake


BOYNTON


John Boynton


BRADLEY


Osgood Bradley


CAMP Camp Scott


CASTLE From the Oread


CATHARINE


Wife of Ebenezer Harrington


CHANDLER Chandler family


CHANNING


William Ellery Channing


CHAPIN


Henry Chapin


CHARLOTTE Wife of H. H. Chamberlain


CHEEVER


Rev. Henry T. Cheever


CLARKSON


Clarkson the Quaker


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Names of Streets


CLINTON


De Witt Clinton


CRESCENT


Former shape of street


CROMPTON George Crompton


CROWN Crown of the hill


CRYSTAL Crystal Lake in Illinois


CURTIS


Albert Curtis


CUSHING


Paine family name


DAVIS


Isaac Davis


DEAN


Salisbury family name


DEWEY


Francis H. Dewey


DIX


Dr. Elijah Dix


DOWNING A. J. Downing, eminent horticul- turist


EARLE


Edward Earle


EDWARD


ELLSWORTH


Ellsworth the martyr


ELY


Lyman A. Ely


EVERETT


Edward Everett


EXCHANGE


Central Exchange


FOSTER .


Foster family


FOUNTAIN


From the " water-cure," formerly


near there


Fox


Fox family


FREDERICK Frederick W. Paine


FREELAND


Named in Free-soil times by H. H. Chamberlin and Henry Chapin


GARDEN


Garden of William Lincoln


GARDNER Named by James H. Wall for Governor Gardner


GATES


Simon S. Gates


GEORGE


General George Hobbs


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The Story of Worcester


GOULDING


Goulding family


HALE


Rev. Edward Everett Hale


HAMMOND


Sargent family name


HENRY


Walter Henry


HIGH


Its situation


HUDSON


Charles Hudson, member of Con- gress


Jo BILL (INSTITUTE


ROAD ) Joseph Bill, who lived there in 1750


JOHN Dr. John Green


KANSAS


Named in " Kansas " times


KENDALL


Joseph G. Kendall


KING


Family name of Mrs. S. H. Colton


KINGSBURY Family name of Rev. George Allen's mother


LAGRANGE


Home of Lafayette


LANGDON Name in Whittier's " Stanzas for the Times "


LODI


Bridge of Lodi


LINCOLN


Lincoln family


LOUDON


Eminent English landscape gar- dener


LOVELL


Lovell family


LYFORD J. Chauncey Lyford


MASON Joseph Mason


MERRICK Mrs. D. Waldo Lincoln's family


MERRIFIELD Merrifield family


NEWBURY Newbury St. in Portland, Me.


NEWPORT Native place of Mrs. Edward Earle


NORWOOD Henry Ward Beecher's novel


OBERLIN


Oberlin College


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Names of Streets


OXFORD


Oxford St. in New York


PARKER Mrs. Joseph Mason's family name


PATTISON


Dr. R. E. Pattison


PERKINS


Paine family name


PIEDMONT


' Foot of the Mountain.' Name given by George Jaques


QUEEN Named by S. H. Colton to mate King St.


RICHARDS


Richards family


RIPLEY


John C. Ripley


RUSSELL


James W. Russell


SEWARD


William H. Seward


STURGIS


Paine family name


TEMPLE


St. John's Church located there


TRUMBULL


George A. Trumbull


TUCKERMAN Salisbury family name


UNION Named soon after Webster's reply to Hayne


WACHUSETT The mountain can be seen from here


WALDO Daniel Waldo


WELLINGTON Named by George Jaques for the Duke


WINSLOW


Lincoln family name


CHAPTER XIX


INTERESTING FACTS


T HE first settlement was made in 1674; the second in 1684; the third and permanent settlement in 1713.


Worcester became a town June 14, 1722, and a city Feb. 29, 1848.


June 24, 1772. - The first stage coach from Boston to New York passed through Worcester.


May 5, 1779. - Two men were publicly whipped, forty stripes each, for passing counterfeit money.


May 8, 1811. - " On Friday last Caleb Jephterson was exposed in the pillory for one hour and a half, pursuant to his sen- tence, upon three several convictions, for the odious and detestable crime of blas- pheming." -Spy.


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Interesting Facts


May 16, 1832. - The Selectmen criti- cized by the Spy for licensing " a company of strolling actors calling themselves circus riders, to exhibit their fooleries here: Who does not know that no one gets any good by attending such exhibitions? That by going there, he encourages idleness, cruelty, and vice? It is to be hoped that this is the last time we shall be troubled with such unwelcome visitors."


The type-writer was invented in Worces- ter by Charles Thurber, in 1843. The orig- inal machine is now in the possession of the Worcester Society of Antiquity.


The first daily paper appeared June 23, 1845. This was incorporated in 1847 with the Daily Spy.


Mr. Osgood Bradley in 1835 built the cars for the Boston and Worcester Rail- road; probably the first passenger cars made in this country.


Dr. R. L. Hawes of Worcester, in 1852, invented the first successful machine for making envelopes.


September 12, 1848. - Abraham Lin- coln addressed a Whig meeting in City Hall.


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October 20, 1849. - Father Mathew, the distinguished Irish temperance agitator, visited Worcester and administered the pledge to hundreds of men.


In 1849, Main Street was paved from Front to Exchange Street. This was the first paving done in the city. 1


During Mayor Isaac Davis's term, in 1861, the " Causeway " over Lake Quinsig- amond was completed at a cost of $26,000. On account of the hard times Mayor Davis employed a large number of citizens, many of whom otherwise would have been obliged to apply for aid. These men were paid sixty cents a day.


October 30, 1854. - The Butman Riot occurred on this day. The cause of this riot was the attempt to arrest and carry back to slavery a negro named William H. Jan- kins, who for a number of years had been a respectable and industrious citizen of Worcester.


Massachusetts had passed laws forbid- ding her officers to assist in the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Laws, and forbidding the use of her prison to the United States officers for the safe-keeping of prisoners


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Interesting Facts


who should be arrested in consequence of these laws.


Asa A. Butman, a deputy United States marshal, came to Worcester intending to arrest Jankins. "The Spy" notified the citizens of his arrival. A vigilance commit- tee was appointed to watch his movements. Butman was arrested on the charge of car- rying dangerous weapons and the judge ordered him to leave the city and never return. On his way to the depot he was assaulted by a mob of excited citizens.


This was the last attempt to enforce the hated Fugitive Slave Law in Massachusetts.


Mr. Jankins arranged matters with his old master, obtained his free papers and had them recorded in the office of our clerk of courts. These were the only free papers ever recorded on the books of this county.


The steam calliope, such as is seen in circus parades, was invented here by J. C. Stoddard in 1856.


The first street railroad was opened in 1863. The Worcester Horse Railroad laid tracks from Harrington Avenue on Lincoln Street, through Main Street to Webster Square, on Front Street and on Pleasant to


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The Story of Worcester


West Street. The Pleasant-Street line was discontinued after a short time and the tracks were taken up. The fare was seven cents, and, up to 1881, was five cents extra if a person wished to ride on Front Street. In 1881 the tracks were extended to Adams Square, and a five-cent fare for the city was established. Worcester today is one of the great trolley cities of the country. Its street railway service brings it into direct com- munication, within a radius of 20 miles, with thirty-five towns having a population of 375,000 people.


The first Swedes came to Worcester in 1868 and began work at The Washburn and Moen Wire Mill.


March 30, 1876. - Lynde Brook Dam was carried away by the breaching of the masonry. The damage paid by the city, including the cost of a new dam, amounted to $227,000.


The first bicycle made in America was built on Cypress Street, in 1878, by W. H. Pierce.


September 6, 1881 .- "The Yellow Day." Lights were burning in stores and it was hardly possible to read in the open


159


Interesting Facts


air. Next day it was found that all the sunflowers had died.


Electricity was first used for lighting the streets in 1883.


The estimated population of Worcester in 1910, is 147,000.


Worcester is the second largest city in Massachusetts and the third in New Eng- land.


Worcester has, with possibly one excep- tion, the most amply endowed art museum in this country. It is the gift of the late Stephen Salisbury, who left an estate that will yield $160,000 annually to be devoted to its uses.


The first house-warming furnace in America was introduced here by Henry W. Miller.


Brand Mark. - The ancient Brand Mark of Worcester, designated by the General Court in 1684, by which the cattle, etc., belonging to the place were to be dis- tinguished, was represented thus: -


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