USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume II > Part 3
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The Governor honored the society by his presence at the fair in 1826, when His Excellency, John Quincy Adams, members of the Supreme Judi- cial Court, and other dignitaries, partook of a public dinner in the new town hall (which was the old City Hall), standing at Front and Main streets. Soon afterward the president of the society, Levi Lincoln, became Governor of the State, and for nine years held the two important offices of Governor of the State of Massachusetts, and president of the Worcester Agricultural Society, the latter for twenty-eight years.
In 1852, the Worcester Agricultural Society acquired twenty acres of land on the West Side of Worcester, across the present Russell Street east of Elm Park, bounded by Sever Street on the east and Highland Street on the north and extending nearly to William Street on the south. In 1853 its first fair was held there, on a larger scale than had been possible in the center of the city, and with the additional attraction of horse races on a half mile track. The office of the secretary was in the society's barn which had neither floor nor windows, and the same room was used for the exhibit of butter and cheese. The fair was deemed a great success, and in the following year was kept open for two days, which brought still greater results.
In 1899 the fairgrounds were sold for development as a residential neigh- borhood, and a tract containing sixty acres at Barbers Crossing was pur- chased. A great deal of money was expended there, in building a high class
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half mile track and in the erection of buildings, including a great exhibition hall.
The New England Fair was held in Worcester for many years, first on the old West Side grounds, then, year after year, at Barbers Crossing; the Worcester Society united with the New England Society. In the earlier years the fairs were most successful. But the taste of the public changed. The automobile increased so tremendously the range of the farmers' day's travel, that many then fell into the habit of visiting more elaborate fairs to the east- ward and westward. Finally the fair was abandoned.
The same influence which caused the going of the New England Fair had a like effect upon the local fairs which had been held for generations in vari- ous towns of the county. In the days of the horse, the farmer's family could not plan for a day's excursion much farther than ten miles from home. That was considered the maximum radius of the influence of a local cattle show. The result was the organization of agricultural societies and farmers' clubs each of which held a fair each autumn, and with good weather they were uniformly financially successful. A few towns still have their cattle shows, but chiefly for the trotting races. The Athol, Sturbridge, Upton and Uxbridge fairs are still held. But those at Barre, Clinton, Gardner, Oxford, and Spencer are no more.
Another type of country fair which still endures is conducted in much the same manner as the original cattle shows on Worcester Common-on the village green and along the streets. Bolton and Sterling, the latter conducted by the Sterling Farmers' Club and dating from 1857, still have them. But one after another the village fairs at Lunenburg, Southboro and Westminster were given up for good. Such has been the effect of the swift and far- traveling automobile of the Worcester County farmer.
Worcester County Horticultural Society-One of the great influences in furthering the advancement of agriculture as well as horticulture has been the Worcester County Horticultural Society, in which the towns outside of Worcester have always had their members and their contributors to the exhibitions. In fact the place occupied by the society has grown in impor- tance with the passing of the years, and the attendance at its shows of flowers and fruit and vegetables has constantly increased, not only of interested per- sons living within the county, but of those from a distance.
The society is an old one. All through its ninety years of existence it has been a factor for good in its field. It was incorporated March 3, 1842, following a period of organization on the part of "several gentlemen desir- ous of associating themselves together for the purpose of advancing the sci- ence and encouraging and improving the practice of horticulture." Never
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has a purpose been carried along more consistently. The start was an auspi- cious one, for within three years the membership reached three hundred.
The first exhibition was held on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of October, 1840, the 14th being Cattle Show Day. For many years afterwards, with the exception of the year 1861, which was remarkable for the failure of the fruit crop throughout the county, the society held its annual exhibition coincident with that of the Worcester Agricultural Society. But beginning with the year 1890 the desirability of more frequent shows was realized, and from that time they have been held weekly throughout the spring and summer and into the fall.
The financial affairs of the society were wisely managed, and finally a sufficient fund was accumulated for the erection in 1851 of a building of its own, a handsome structure situated on the north side of Front Street, only a little distance from Main Street. It was named Horticultural Hall. Its audi- torium was a large and admirably adapted for exhibition purposes. With the growth of Worcester the property increased rapidly in value, and finally it was decided to lease it for commercial purposes, and to erect a new building. The result is the new Horticultural Hall at the corner of Elm and Chestnut streets, architecturally along Colonial lines, beautiful within and without. Its exhibition hall affords a delightful setting for the colorful flower shows. Naturally, interest in the exhibitions has been stimulated by its new home, and many amateurs and the gardeners of private estates indulge in keen rivalry for the many premiums which are offered.
The great changes in the Horticultural Society's life and environment have taken place under the régime of Myron F. Converse, who has been its president for the past ten years.
Worcester County Extension Service-From the strictly agricultural standpoint, the dominating influence in the county is that of the Worcester County Extension Service, which has the support and cooperation of its indi- vidual members, the County Commissioners, the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts and the Federal Government. Its history is interesting, as one of quick evolution. It had its beginning in 1913 as the Agricultural Bureau of Worcester Chamber of Commerce. At that time the farmers of central Massachusetts were deeply concerned with the possibilities of alfalfa for forage. A meeting of farmers at the chamber in connection with the bureau resulted in the organization of the .Worcester County Alfalfa Club, which at a meeting held in January, 1914, had ninety-six members representing forty county towns.
In the following March, the organization was incorporated as the Worces- ter County Improvement League and Alfalfa Club, and the scope of the pro-
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posed work was broadened. The Agricultural Bureau of the Chamber of Commerce and the Alfalfa Club were absorbed in the new club. In 1915 the name was changed to the Worcester County Farm Bureau.
In 1918 a separation of interests became necessary, because of a new law which withdrew all financial support of the State from organizations having members. The Worcester County Farm Bureau continued its existence, tak- ing over the commercial side of farming and matters relating to legislation. All parts of the county are represented in its five hundred members.
A new body, the Worcester County Extension Service, was formed, to carry on the educational work, supported by the county of Worcester, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Federal Government. Attached to the office in the Federal building at Worcester are Federal and State experts, whose services are available to the public at large as well as to agriculturalists and horticulturalists. Scientific advice may be had on any pertinent subject, such as soils, crops, forestry, the dairy, the orchard, the market garden, the apiary, poultry, general farming, and on through the list.
Nor are the women forgotten. A trained staff of women visit among the farms and in the villages, instructing in household occupations, such as can- ning of fruit and vegetables, dress-making, cooking and the care of children.
The boys and girls of the farms have their 4-H clubs, which in the county have 2,500 members, and much time and attention is paid to their instruction.
Not the least important in the conduct of the Extension Service is the live cooperation of the Grange and the Farmers' Clubs. Of the latter there are many, and their membership is large. But their original purpose of edu- cation has been taken over by the Extension Service, and now they exist chiefly as social organizations.
George F. E. Story has been manager of the Extension Service and Fed- eral County Agricultural Agent since 1918.
There are other prosperous and important cooperative associations, each including in its membership most of the farmers in its particular field of influence. They include the Worcester County Dairymen's Association, the Worcester Milk Producers' Association, which covers the entire shire, the Worcester Poultrymen's Association, which covers the southern end of the county, and the Fitchburg Poultry Association which covers the northern area. The Worcester Market Gardeners' Association, whose membership comprises those who market their produce in the city of Worcester; and the Nashoba Fruit Producers' Association, which includes towns of the north- eastern county, and the sister organization, the Bashoba Apple Packing Asso- ciation which has a large cold storage plant at Ayer.
CHAPTER XXXV.
The Dark Days Before the Civil War
The importance of the part played by Worcester County in the critical years which led up to the Civil War, can hardly be exaggerated. Here, in the old Worcester City Hall, on June 21, 1854, was born the Free Soil party. In the same hall, a month later, at the Massachusetts People's Convention, the new party, which was to succeed the Whigs, took the name Republican. In the county was conceived the idea of the Emigrant Aid Society, which came out of the mind of Eli Thayer of Worcester, and which, in great measure due to his indefatigable efforts and skill as an organizer, brought about the colonization of Kansas by anti-slavery men and prevented the further exten- sion of slavery. United States Senator George F. Hoar, in his address on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of the naming of Worcester, told the story in few words when he said, "As surely as Faneuil Hall was the cradle of American Independence, so surely was Worcester the cradle of that other revolution."
Spread everywhere through the North was a growing abhorrence of the thought of human bondage. It was an accelerating movement, and nowhere were the circumstances that gave it momentum more in evidence than in our county. For the anti-slavery people here were led by more than ordinarily able men. One has only to name a few to illustrate the point-Edward Everett Hale, a great divine and author, and eloquent inspirer of right thoughts; militant Rev. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, also a Unitarian minister, yet destined to lead the first regiment of colored troops raised in the Civil War ; George F. Hoar, Eli Thayer, Alexander H. Bullock, who was to be Governor of Massachusetts ; Judge Charles Allen, the man who declared the Whig party dissolved ; and among the real Abolitionists, that remarkable man and wife, Stephen S. Foster and Abby Kelly Foster, who, though the very extreme of radicals, had an immense share in spreading knowledge and keeping the anti-slavery cause constantly in the peoples' vision.
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The county spoke with no uncertain voice when the same United States Deputy Marshal who arrested Anthony Burns came to Worcester presumedly to arrest some other slave. The alarm went forth among the towns in a man- ner to recall the days preceding the Revolution. An immense gathering of angry men showed only too plainly where they stood as to taking negroes from the free soil of Massachusetts. Only by a miracle of courage and tact did Foster and Hoar and Higginson and Stowell save the marshal from what might have been death at the hands of a thoroughly aroused mob of the same men who in a few years were to wear the blue uniform of Union soldiers.
Nor must we forget the Underground Railroad, which had most impor- tant links in the county over which runaway slaves were assisted to freedom. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of the destitute unfortunates, were met at stations and with utmost secrecy were conveyed in the darkness of night, from farmhouse to village home, and on to another farmhouse, where they were hidden away and fed and guarded. It was over the line of the Under- ground across the North County, through Leominster and Fitchburg and Ashburnham, that Shadrach was conveyed on his way to safety in Canada- that same Shadrach, who arrested with Anthony Burns, was rescued from the United States courtroom by a crowd of fellow negroes.
Surely, few regions of the size and population of Worcester County of the 1850's can boast a record of accomplishments such as this. Reading them over, one must realize the influences that were set to work, radiating out in all directions, in the cause of anti-slavery.
The Northern people, as we have said, with an occasional exception in the person of a Southern sympathizer, were opposed to slavery. But they varied greatly in the degree of their opposition. The Abolitionists would have wiped out the institution over night. But the greater number by far, while they disliked the thought of it, recognized the rights of the Southern states to continue as they were. But all were agreed that there should be no further extension of slavery, and no laws enacted for protecting it which would infringe on the rights and principles of the free states.
Birth of Free Soil and Republican Parties-When Charles Allen was elected Worcester County's delegate to the Whig National Convention of 1848, he had heard the district convention's resolve: "That in addition to the former issues between the Whig parties and their opponents, we recog- nize as another and most important one, our uncompromising opposition to any further extension of slavery over any territory of the United States, or to any legislation by the National Government the specific object of which is to sustain the institution of slavery.
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"That, in the opinion of this convention, no candidate for the Presidency can receive the electoral vote of Massachusetts who is not publicly known to be opposed to the extension of slavery."
At the National Convention at Philadelphia on June 7, Charles Allen himself dared put into words before the country the questions the leading men of the day were evading. And out of his daring eloquence, it is claimed, came the eventual disruption of the Whig party, and the creation, first, of the Free Soil party, and its natural successor, the Republican party. And he was a leading figure in the Worcester meetings when these parties were given their names.
The Whigs were striving for a candidate who would be considered neutral in his views on slavery, and yet popular enough to be elected. So Zachary Taylor, hero of the Mexican War, was determined upon. It was hoped that he would be equally acceptable to the "Conscience Whigs" of New England and the "Cotton Whigs" of the South, who wanted slavery, but solely for the commercial advantages which accrued to them. But General Taylor was a slave-owner.
So, at Philadelphia, Charles Allen rose to address a convention which was all but unanimous, for Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore, as the safest men to head their ticket. He said-and they were history-making words: "I express for myself what I believe to be the sentiments of my State and I say that this cannot go forth as the unanimous voice of this Convention. You have put one straw too much on the back of Northern endurance. The Whig party are not to be allowed to nominate their own statesmen. We declare the Whig party of the Union this day dissolved."
His words created a tremendous sensation, but they did not change the choice of candidates. In fact, only one delegate stood with him, Henry Wilson, of Natick, who, when the war had been fought, became vice-presi- dent of the United States. Taylor and Fillmore were elected. But that was the end of the Whig party.
On the evening of June 21, Judge Allen was greeted by his fellow-citizens in City Hall. It was a great meeting, at which county towns as well as city were represented. His reception was one of wild enthusiasm. It has been pointed out that neither the press nor the clergy nor many of the prominent citizens paid much attention to the gathering. Those present "were the men of the shops who were really rulers of the city then as they have been ever since."
The judge spoke for two hours. He told his audience he believed he had done no more than carry out the instructions the Worcester County Whigs had given him. "They asked me, 'If General Taylor is nominated, will your
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district support him ?' And I said, 'No, gentlemen, my district will not support him.' 'There are men in your district who do not think as you do upon the subject,' I was told. 'Sir, who said so?' I asked. 'Governor Lincoln. Not by him only, but by others was it reported that there was a strong sentiment here for General Taylor, and that the County of Worcester would go strongly in his favor,' was the reply. 'Now (turning to the meeting), am I right or was he?"
Shouts of approval were the answer, and he went on: "Most of us have belonged to the Whig party. We have professed to be averse to the exten- sion of slavery. The question is not, here, whether we would eradicate it where it exists, but whether we are opposed to its extension. Well, gentle- men, I did not eat my words at Philadelphia. Will you at the polls? When I declared the Whig party was dissolved, I declared a fact."
As he concluded, his brother, Rev. George Allen, mounted the platform and proposed the memorable resolution, "Resolved, that Massachusetts wears no chains and spurns all bribes; that Massachusetts goes now and will for- ever go for free soil and free men, for free lips and a free press, for a free land and a free world."
And the Free Soil party was born out of these words.
The Republican Party Is Christened-The People's Convention of Massachusetts was appropriately held in Worcester City Hall, July 20, 1854. There participated in its deliberation, and in the adoption of the famous reso- lution, delegates from all over Worcester County and, in fact, from all over the State. The convention resolved "That the unquestionable existence of a settled purpose on the part of the slave power to convert the Republic which our fathers founded on principles of justice and liberty into a slave-holding despotism, whose vital and animating spirit shall be the preservation, propa- gation and perpetuation of slavery, calls for the immediate union of all true men into a party which shall make the question of freedom paramount to all other political questions.
"Resolved, that in cooperation with the friends of freedom, we hereby form ourselves into the REPUBLICAN PARTY of Massachusetts, pledged to the accomplishment of the following purposes," namely, the repeal of the Fugi- tive Slave Law, the restoration of liberty to Kansas and Nebraska, prohibition of slavery in all the territories, and refusal of admission of any more slave states into the Union."
Arrest of Anthony Burns and Shadrach-The North was brought to a white heat of indignation by the aggression of the slave power, as shown by the Fugitive Slave Law and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise by the
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passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Mayor Peter C. Bacon of Worcester, in his inaugural address in 1851, referring in stirring words to the Fugutive Slave Law, voiced the sentiment of the people "If it be asked whether it be intended that the police of the city shall, in its official capacity, aid in its enforcement, I answer No!" After quoting the United States Supreme Court decision upholding a Massachusetts law passed in 1843, which pro- vided that no sheriff, constable or other officer of this Commonwealth should arrest or detain, or aid in the arrest or detention of any person for the reason that he was claimed as a fugitive slave, Mayor Bacon concluded : "And it is necessary for me only to add that should any officer of this city embraced within the provisions of that act of 1843, be found violating its provisions, I should deem it my duty to recommend his immediate removal from office." Three years later the occasion offered, but it was unnecessary to remove any Worcester police officer.
The arrest in Boston in May, 1854, of the three slaves, Anthony Burns, Sims and Shadrach under the Fugitive Slave Law with the purpose of restor- ing them to their owners, stirred the people of the county to furious anger. Indignation meetings were held everywhere. The contemporary account in the Spy of May 31, tells of the happenings in the shire town:
"GREAT MEETING IN WORCESTER. Rally at the City Hall.
"Without the issuing of a single handbill or any previous notice, more than a thousand citizens of Worcester were assembled in the City Hall on Saturday evening at the ringing of the bell.
"Speeches were made by W. W. Rice, Dr. O. Martin, Thomas Drew, T. W. Higginson, and S. S. Foster, all of which were received with the most enthusiastic applause. The most intense excitement prevails in regard to the disgraceful proceedings of the U. S. Government in backing up the kidnap- pers of men upon the soil of Massachusetts. But one feeling pervades the entire community,-Whigs, Democrats and all seem to be animated by one common sentiment of earnest opposition to the infamous invasion of our soil by the desperadoes of the Southern States under the protection of the Army of the United States.
"It was voted unanimously to lay aside business on Monday and proceed to Boston en masse, there to meet the friends of Freedom and humanity from other sections of the state and to take counsel together upon the emergencies of the times.
Wor .- 28
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"Not less than nine hundred people from this section went to Boston by the special and other trains on Saturday and a much larger number will be there today. The people of the country towns are aroused to a pitch of excitement hitherto never seen in Massachusetts since the days of the Revo- lution. What the result may be, Heaven only knows, but one thing is certain ; the administration and the South have raised a storm which can only be quelled when the manacles fall from the limbs of the last slave.
"On Sunday evening the City Hall was crammed to its utmost capacity with an earnest and true-hearted audience, brought together by the demon- strations now being made by the slave power of its authority in and over Massachusetts. Dr. Martin was called to the chair and made some stirring remarks on the occasion. Other able and eloquent addresses by D. F. Parker, Rev. Mr. Marrs, S. S. Foster, Thomas Drew and others, all breath- ing the most determined feeling to fight the battle of Freedom and to use all proper means to prevent the return of any fugitive from bondage.
"In the course of Mr. Parker's remarks he renounced his former party allegiance and expressed his determination hereafter to go for freedom to all mankind, everywhere. The meeting then adjourned to Court Square, Boston, at II o'clock yesterday."
Among those who were arrested in Boston in connection with the disturb- ances attending the taking of Burns were Rev. Mr. Higginson and Martin Stowell of Worcester. When arraigned neither was convicted. The incident was important only in connection with their unselfish action in protecting a Federal marshal in the Butman riot in Worcester a few months later.
The remanding of Burns to slavery intensified the sense of indignation throughout the County. Men were grimly angry. In Worcester and in some of the towns the church bells were tolled during the day, the stores were closed and draped in black, and on the liberty pole on Worcester Common flew at half mast the flag of the United States, reversed, furled and draped with black.
On Sunday morning, effigies of four men conspicuously identified with the action against Burns, were found suspended by the neck on the Common. Each had its label : PONTIUS PILATE LORING, The Unjust Judge; BEN HAL- LETT, The Kidnapper ; CALEB CUSHING, The Bloodhound ; and FRANK PIERCE, Satan's Journeyman.
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