USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > The story of Worcester, Massachusetts (1934) > Part 6
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STORY OF WORCESTER
large mills could not be erected on streams scarcely powerful enough to turn even the smallest water wheel. So the ingenuity of our early manufacturers was directed into making many kinds of goods on a small scale. Clocks, watches, corduroy, leather, carpets, paper, and cotton and woolen goods were made, but each in a small way.
The most important of these mill streams was Mill Brook. It rises in North Pond, flows in a southerly direction until it joins the Black- stone River. Tatnuck and Beaver Brooks rise in Holden and flow in a southerly direction to the Blackstone. Kettle Brook rises in Paxton and, swollen by Lynde and Parsons Brooks, flows into the same river. Privileges to locate mills on them were freely granted by the town. Fulling, grist, saw, and cotton and woolen mills were built along the banks of these streams. The first wire mill was located on Mill Brook. An old mill located on Tatnuck Brook on the road to New Worcester was built by William T. Merrifield in 1834. It was until recently in use, being operated as a woolen mill by Frank C. Smith.
There was little change in the number of mills in Worcester until after the passage of the Embargo Act in 1807. The complications
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CITY OF DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES
incident to the Napoleonic wars practically stopped all importation into the United States. And the passage of the Embargo Act pro- hibited exportations. The result was to increase greatly the amount of home production. In 1807 only fifteen small cotton mills were in operation in the United States; two years later sixty-two were manufacturing cotton and many more mills were in process of erection.
Manufacturing in Worcester increased. Among the new manufacturers were John Earle and Erasmus Jones making wool carding machines to pick, break, and card wool. Osgood Bradley was building mail coaches, chaises, gigs, and sleighs; and Ethan Allen, in 1833, began manufacturing firearms. By 1840 machine tools, wire, firearms, carpets, textiles, shoes, screws, and many other articles were' being made here. But the shops were still small, the number employed few, and the processes of manufacturing primitive.
The period of our modern industrial history dates from the introduction of steam as a motive power and railroad connection with large centers of population. William A. Wheel- er, in 1825, used a small steam engine in his blacksmith shop, probably the first in Worces- ter; but it was not until 1840 that steam was
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STORY OF WORCESTER
in general use. The opening of the Boston and Worcester railroad in 1835 was followed within four years by the Western railroad connecting the terminus of the Boston and Worcester with Springfield. In 1840 the Worcester and Norwich road was completed. Providence and Worcester were connected by rail in 1847.
It was during this time that the foundations of many of Worcester's important industries were laid. "Among the industries of the world, with the single exception of farming, there is probably none other which serves mankind so widely as the wire industry." And wire making and wire working is Worcester's greatest indus- try. The founder of the wire industry in Worcester was Ichabod Washburn, born in Kingston, Mass., in 1798, son of Ichabod Washburn, a sea captain. In 1819, young Washburn came to Worcester and for some years followed the trade of blacksmith. He formed a partnership in 1822 with Benjamin Goddard, manufacturing lead pipe and woolen . machinery. In 1831, Washburn and Goddard manufactured wire in a small factory located at Northville. This partnership was dissolved in 1835, Mr. Washburn continuing the manu- facture of wire in a small factory built for him
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CITY OF DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES
by Stephen Salisbury on Grove Street, the nucleus of the present North Works of the American Steel and Wire Co.
Growth was slow. In 1840 the entire work- ing force of the Washburn wire mill consisted of only ten men and three boys. But the history of the development of wire making offers as romantic a story as any in modern industry. One hundred years ago the world used little wire. Then it seemed as though every new invention demanded wire and more wire. Samuel F. B. Morse in 1843 invented the telegraph, an invention which ranks in shaping the destinies of mankind with the printing press and steam engine. On May 24, 1844, from Washington, Morse flashed to Baltimore, the historic message: "What hath God wrought?"
Certainly a miracle was wrought in the wire industry. Millions of miles of wire were made to make the world a whispering gallery. Of this demand the Washburn factory obtained a fair share, just how much it is difficult to learn but sufficient so that in 1850 Mr. Washburn took his brilliant young son-in-law, Philip L. Moen, as a partner. In addition to this new demand, in 1850 the Washburn-Moen Co. began the manufacture of piano wire, and
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STORY OF WORCESTER
.
eventually the Washburn-Moen piano wire became the "Aristocrat of Wires."
It was during this period also that fashion decreed that properly or stylishly attired ladies should wear "hoop skirts." Three thousand tons of crinoline wire were needed annually to supply the wire for hoop skirts, of which fifteen hundred tons were made by the Washburn- Moen Company.
"Go west, young man," was the advice of Horace Greeley and millions followed his suggestion and swarmed over the western plains after the Civil War. Millions of head of cattle were necessary to feed them, and millions of miles of fencing were needed to care for the cattle by fencing off the plains. So it came about that a better material than timber was needed, for timber was costly and took up too much space. It was estimated that of one hundred acres fenced with wood, five were lost for grazing. The cattle kings substituted plain wire for timber, but the cattle rubbed them- selves against it and easily broke the plain wire. Charles F. Washburn, nephew of Ichabod, believed that barbed wire would quickly solve the fencing problem in the west. It did. Of 800,000 miles of barbed wire produced in 1889, the Washburn-Moen Co. manufactured
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CITY OF DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES
100,000 miles. During the winter the cattle consumed millions of tons of hay. Wood and rope had been used for bale ties, but they were costly and clumsy. Wire was cheaper and more durable. Another demand for wire was created.
The electrical inventions of the late seventies and early eighties were so numerous and so startling in importance that this period may be called the "age of electricity." The telephone was invented by Alexander G. Bell in 1876. At first iron wire was used to string telephone lines but in a few years copper superseded iron. Thousands of miles of copper wire were soon in operation by telegraph and telephone com- panies. About 1884 street cars began to take power from overhead wires charged with electricity. About this same time Edison in- vented the incandescent light. All these inven- tions called for an immense tonnage of wire. Later came the demand for wire hoisting ropes, tiller ropes, street car cables, wire for sus- pension bridges, and wire to span the Atlantic by cables. Then followed a demand for wire nails. In 1880 wire nails were practically unknown. The increase in the wire industry in Worcester may be summarized in the figures of employment and tonnage in the years 1840 and 1933. In 1840 only seventeen men were
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STORY OF WORCESTER
employed in the entire wire industry in the city. In 1933 there were six thousand thus employed; and from about fifty tons of wire in 1840, 200,000 tons were produced in 1933.
Like wire making, carriage manufacturing is an old Worcester industry. As early as 1808 the firm of Curtis and Goddard was making carriages. Osgood Bradley, the founder of the Osgood Bradley Car Co., came to Worcester in 1822 and engaged in the manufacture of mail coaches, chaises, gigs, and sleighs. In 1837, the firm of Tolman and Russell was formed, manu- facturing such first-class carriages that they were in demand as far west as California and sold in Africa and Australia. Almost before the canals were in full operation, railroads began to appear. Our first railroad cars were drawn by horses. In England, George Stephenson had shown as early as 1826 that the iron horse could transport freight and passengers. In 1831, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was opened. In 1833, Osgood Bradley began building passenger cars, thé earliest of which were merely stagecoaches fitted with flanged wheels. Then two remarkable inventions brought a revolution in transportation: the Bessemer process of making steel and the air brake.
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CITY OF DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES
In 1858, Henry Bessemer of England in- vented a process by which molten iron could be run into a furnace and in a few moments be converted into fine steel. Steel rails then re- placed the iron rails, so that it became possible to build heavy, fast-running trains. However, the brakes in use were hand brakes and it was difficult to stop the trains within half a mile of the station while, in backing the train, it was impossible to stop at the station. It was almost as difficult to stop as to start a train. This problem was solved when, in 1881, George Westinghouse invented the air brake. Step by step the modern, luxurious car was developed. In the late sixties; sleeping cars were added to the trains, and in recent years all-steel passenger cars were introduced. These inven- tions increased the business of the Bradley Car Co. so that it became one of the largest in the world. In 1909 the present plant was built at the Summit, employing in normal times 1200 men.
The railroad coaches were soon to be called upon to carry heavy loads of mail. Until about 1840 envelopes were used but little. The receiver of a letter paid the postage, the amount depending upon the distance the letter was carried and the number of sheets of
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paper in it. Rowland Hill of England solved the problem of postage by introducing penny postage to be paid by the sender. This led to a demand for cheap envelopes. Envelopes are now so widely used and for such varied purposes that it is hard to imagine life without them. The old method of sealing the folds of a letter with wax and writing the directions on the back was a clumsy and expensive process. But such was the custom until Dr. Russell L. Hawes of Worcester invented the first successful ma- chine for making envelopes in 1853. From that time Worcester has been foremost in the manu- facture of hand-made envelopes. Many improvements have been made on the first envelope machine, especially by D. W. and H. D. Swift who in 1876 invented a self- gumming machine, soon adopted by the lead- ing envelope manufacturers of the world. In 1898, the United States Envelope Company absorbed the Whitcomb Envelope Co., the W. H. Hill Envelope Co., and the Logan, Swift and Brigham Co. Thus from Dr. Hawes' invention there developed a great Worcester industry.
The story of the wire, carriage, and envelope industries has been told in some detail because they illustrate how the marvelous inventions
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CITY OF DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES
of the nineteenth century and the expansion of the country stimulated Worcester's industrial growth and also because Worcester was the cradle of these great industries. But there are other important industries centered in Worces- ter. The Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, the Whitin Machine Works of Whitinsville, and the Draper Company of Hopedale, make a large proportion of the textile machinery of the world. Worcester is the great center of the grinding machine industry. From the small pottery of Frank B. Norton on Water Street has developed the great Norton Company specializing in metal-working tools.
These industries are the largest of their kind in the United States and give an idea of the diversity of Worcester's products: looms, valentines, emery wheels, envelopes, corsets, carpets, wire novelties, boilers, firearms, sprinklers, musical instruments, boot and shoe machinery, leather working machines, cart- ridge belts, and skates.
Worcester's prosperity is to be found not in lavish gifts of nature but rather in her own citizens. Senator Hoar once said that within a radius of twelve miles of Worcester were pro- jected more inventions and improvements contributing to the good of humanity than in
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any other portion of the world and supported his statement by referring 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 pre- eminently from a large number of Worcester inventors. The founders of our industries, for the most part, were themselves laborers and apprentices, workers in the shops before they became employers. Their lives are the lives of the typical successful New Englander. They were successful because they were honest and hardworking, not afraid of long hours nor heavy tasks. Their fortunes were modest and were acquired by frugal living and withal they were public spirited as many of our public buildings testify. To them we owe in large measure our six hundred industries, turning out annually in normal times $200,000,000 worth of goods and employing 35,000 skilled workers who receive $50,000,000 in wages.
CHAPTER X
OUR CITY GOVERNMENT
N June 14, 1722, in the reign of King George I of England, Worcester was incor- porated as a town and continued under a town form of government until 1848.
The legislative Act incorporating Worcester as a city received the signature of Governor George N. Briggs, February 29, 1848, and the first city government was inaugurated April 17, 1848, with Levi Lincoln, 2nd, as Mayor and a remarkably able Board of Aldermen. The charter is the supreme law of Worcester. It determines the boundaries of the city. It de- termines what officers the city should have, their power, duties, and length of service. It describes how contracts shall be awarded, bud- gets made, accounts audited, and supplies pur- chased. The charter provides for a Mayor- Council form of government. This plan calls for a Mayor and a legislative body composed of two parts-a Board of Aldermen and a Com- mon Council. The Mayor and the City Council are elected for two years. The Mayor's princi-
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STORY OF WORCESTER
pal duties are to enforce city ordinances, to act on ordinances passed by the City Council, and to appoint officials.
Besides the Mayor as chief executive there are a great many other administrative officers organized usually in departments. The chart on the opposite page shows the various de- RCF STE partments and by whom the heads are elected. A study AT of the chart shows that the center of authority rests with the City Council and that 1,1722- ACI Y FEB. 29.184 the government of Worcester CITY SEAL is a very complex problem. The demand made on the time and energy of all these department heads is very great. There are many details demanding attention besides the necessity of holding long confer- ences and regular meetings, for the city's money must be spent wisely and well.
Just how is the money raised to provide education, police and fire protection, supply good water, secure adequate sewerage, and keep the city in good repair? This is accom- plished largely by taxes on real estate, although a small amount is raised by taxation on personal property and the polls. The chart re- produced on page 146 shows the large amount
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OUR CITY GOVERNMENT
VOTERS OF WORCESTER
MAYOR
COUNCIL
SCHOOL BOARD
term 2 years
11 Aldermen 30 Councilmen
term 2 years
11 Members
term 2 years
City Physician Chief of Police Board of Health
Subject to approval of Aldermen
Superintendent of Schools Teachers Clerks
Janitors
Superintendent of Wires Parks and Recreation Planning Board Auditorium Commission License Commission
Subject to approval of the Council
City Clerk City Treasurer City Auditor City Messenger City Engineer
Street Commissioner Water Commissioner Supt. of Public Buildings Chief and Deputy-Chief of Fire Department Board of Public Welfare Superintendent of Sewers Soldiers' Relief Commission Assessor of Taxes Superintendent of Lighting
Commissioners of Hope Cemetery
Commissioners of Jacques' Fund Directors of Free Public Library Trustees of City Hospital Trustees of Independent Industrial Schools Trustees of Trust Funds
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STORY OF WORCESTER
of the city's money which is required for edu- cation and, owing to the economic depression at this present writing, a comparatively large amount is spent for charities.
EDUCATION LIBRARIES WITHD PLAYGROUNDS 1090 OPERATIVE LAPENSE
1 095
1 2.46
GENERAL GOVERNMENT
4. 2.78
, 200
FIRE DEPT.
₹ 4.67
POLICE DEPT. $ 5.61
TAX RATE
DEBT AND INTEREST
$ 4.23
# 33.80
MUNICIPAL MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM
+ 693
STREETS
WARD, INCINERATOR
$12.12
TOTAL
3. ZA
765
OTHER
CHARITIES
MAVING AND IMPROVEMENT. . MAINTENANCE AND LIGHTING
CONSTRUCTION, PERMANENT
TOTAL $ 12.55
6 84
HEALTHANDSANITATION
SEWER CONSTRUCTION, NEW T .
$ 891
ABATEMENTS $ 2.41
PENSIONS
WATER DEPT.
NOTA. 120. %
INTERESY PAYMENTS
TOTAL $13.14
CHART SHOWING DEPARTMENTAL EXPENDITURES FOR YEAR 1932
CHAPTER XI
THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
S INCE the beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury the passage of the years has brought many changes in thought, science, medicine, and standards of living, which were reflected in the life of Worcester as in every city in the Union.
Originally, the racial stock in Worcester was English, followed by the Irish, but the rapid development of industry after the Civil War attracted many immigrants, and Swedes, Scotch, Italians, French Canadians, and Greeks found employment here. So that from a small, homogeneous village of 2000 in 1800, Worcester became, by 1900, a large, cosmo- politan city of 118,421 inhabitants.
In 1893, the horse car had been abandoned and many graceful shade trees along the principal streets had given way to telephone poles and interlacing wires. The trolley was extended to Tatnuck, Greendale, and Colum- bus Park, which made possible the rapid development of suburban Worcester with miles. of fine streets, well lighted by electricity.
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COLLEGE REGATTA AT LAKE QUINSIGAMOND IN 1861
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THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
The telephone was installed in private homes where heretofore it had been confined to busi- ness houses, except in rare cases where wealth had been able to have its convenience. Science was introducing many inventions, which we now take as matter of course, for greater ease in the care of the home. The horse and carriage were used instead of the automobile which, although existing, was a curiosity. Pride in the family horse was as great as, if not greater, than present-day pride in the family automobile, although not so many families boasted their possession. The bicycle was everywhere; men and women rode, and the shirtwaist and bloomers which women affected for greater comfort in riding were the subject of many cartoons. Bicycle races were a source of sport, and great crowds of what to us appear as quaintly-attired people found much enjoyment in watching Major Taylor win the world's champion bicycle race in the old Colosseum. Lake Quinsigamond attracted the crews of Harvard, Yale, and Brown Universities, and the college regattas held there afforded much entertainment and were eagerly anticipated each year by Worcester residents.
The opportunities for enjoyment were fewer and indulgence in them much simpler than the
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youth of today can even imagine, for the rapid advance in science, bringing the radio, moving picture, and automobile, had barely started. Therefore, holidays and public affairs were most elaborate celebrations in which everyone joined, and enthusiasm made up for what else was lacking. Huge bonfires, torchlight and "horribles" parades, with much noise of cow- bells and tin horns, ushered in the "glorious Fourth," and the day itself brought sports, parades, giant firecrackers, band concerts in the open, crowds, noise and, at the close of the day, spectacular displays of fireworks depict- ing the "Battle of Gettysburg" and "The Fall of Rome." Dangerous fireworks in the hands of young people were often attended with dis- astrous results to both life and property so that a tide of resentment arose which resulted in saner celebrations and "A Safe and Sane Fourth" became the slogan.
Likewise, as the new century dawned a new attitude toward dress took place, largely instigated by the medical profession which was turning its attention toward prevention rather than to the cure of ills. It saw in the tight, restricted dress of the day, much harm to the body's delicate organs and in the trailing skirts of women, gathering grime and dirt from the
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THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
city streets, carriers of germs of serious dis- eases. Likewise, better sanitation in the home was encouraged and hardwood floors with art squares and scatter rugs took the place of the heavy, tightly-tacked carpets. Simpler fur- nishings, doing away with "catch-alls," were encouraged. More air, greater light, and better plumbing were advocated. With more com- fortable clothing women began to take greater interest in sport and exercise. The "Gibson Girl," for all her sweet allure, leaves much to be said about healthy dress. The moustache and "side burns" or whiskers of the men began to disappear because they, too, were unhealthy, and hygiene rather than physiology was taught in the schools. Not so commend- able was the change in the popular music of the day, for the simple ballads which we still like to hear such as "Two Little Girls in Blue, Lad," "After the Ball is Over," and other favorites of the preceding decade were suc- ceeded by the newer "Ragtime" which was as severely criticized as "Jazz" in our own time. Yet the "Ragtime" was expressive of a new age and it stirred the hearts of our boys in blue as they rode away to the Spanish war to the strains of "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight."
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One thing, however, which time does not seem to change is warfare; and wherever differ- ences between nations arise settlement seems only possible by bloodshed. So it was in 1898 where the island of Cuba, "Pearl of the Antilles," guards the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. From the time of the discovery by Columbus down to 1898 Cuba belonged to Spain. For four hundred years corrupt officials had squandered its revenues and Spanish soldiers had mercilessly crushed the first sign of rebellion. The condition of Cuba was a constant source of anxiety to the United States. A large amount of American capital was invested in sugar and tobacco plantations there. Cuba is the doorstep to the Mississippi valley. The possession of Cuba by a hostile power would threaten our national existence.
Many insurrections had broken out during the long and turbulent history of the island and an especially severe one occurred in 1895. The 150,000 Spanish troops under the com- mand of General Wyler were unable to subdue the rebels. The cruel method of "reconcentra- tion camps" was employed to break the rebellion. Old men and women and children were herded into prison pens where tens of thousands perished miserably; American citi-
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THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
zens were imprisoned, and American planta- tions were destroyed. The dictates of humanity forbade the continuance of these atrocities at our very door.
President Mckinley labored in vain to get Spain to grant some degree of self-government to Cuba. The crisis was reached when the battleship Maine of the United States Navy was blown up in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, with the loss of 266 men. Our people were convinced that Spain was responsible. A wave of patriotism swept the country; the mills operated night and day to supply flags; everybody wore a button with the motto, "Remember the Maine." So great was the indignation of the American people that Congress declared war on April 19, 1898.
President Mckinley called for 125,000 vol- unteers. The four Worcester companies re- sponded at once; Company A, known as the City Guards; Company C, Light Infantry; Company H, Wellington Rifles, all of the Second Regiment, and Company G, Emmet Guards, of the Ninth Regiment. These com- panies left for the national camp at Framing- ham, Massachusetts, May 3 and 4, 1898, and were mustered into the United States service. The war was short-lived but, brief as it was,
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the soldiers suffered terribly. The war depart- ment was inefficient; the soldiers were supplied with heavy clothing for a tropical climate and blankets for hot nights. The canned beef was so rotten that General Miles called it "em- balmed beef." Worcester soldiers died of dysentery and malaria in the trenches above Santiago. But the surrender of Santiago on July 17 ended the war. The three companies of the Second Regiment arrived in Worcester August 27, emaciated and malaria stricken. The Ninth left Santiago for Worcester on August 24. When the ship arrived at Montauk Point it was met by health officials who de- clared the Ninth Regiment was in the worst condition of any returning. So wretched was the condition of the Emmet Guards that not a soldier could walk ten feet alone.
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