 |
| Worcester 1679 |
 |
| Worcester Official map 1829, with some well know landmarks |
 |
| Worcester's Old City Hall |
 |
| Old Union Station |
 |
| Old and New City Hall |
 |
 |
 |
| The First Settlement Between 1657 and 1664 three land grants were given in the area known as Quinsigamond. On May 6, 1657 a land grant of three thousand two hundred acres was given to Mr. Increase Nowell of Charleston. On May 6, 1662 a land grant of one thousand acres went to a church in Malden. On October 19, 1664 a land grant of two hundred and fifty acres went to Ensign Thomas Noyes of Sudbury. On the 18 of May 1664 John Haynes, Josiah Haynes, Nathaniel Treadway, and Thomas Noyes bought Increase Nowell's land. They decided to make a plantation. Thomas Noyes had died soon after. The General Court proposed that all of Worcester, Holden and a large part of Ward (founded 1778, Became Auburn in 1837)* would be divided into Ninety twenty-five acre house lots; the place closest to the middle of the town would hold the meetinghouse. They also proposed that fifty acres would be set aside for the minister, twenty acres should be set aside for a training field and a lot of twenty-five acres for the schoolhouse and school master. They stated that two hundred and fifty acres were for the use of the county. The neighboring Indians began to act hostile. The settlement was abandoned. King Philip's War The natives of Quinsigamond were the Nitmuck or Nipnet Indians. The south was home to the Pequots; the east was home to the Massachusetts; the north was home to the Pawtuckets. The Mohawks lived along the Connecticut River. The main settlement of Indians in Worcester lived on Pakachoag Hill. Metacomet also known as King Philip was the Grand Sachem of the Wampanogs. He led an uprising of the Indians against the English settlers in the spring of 1675. Many of the Indians from Pakachoag hill sided with him. On the 24 of July 1675 Ephraim Curtis held a conference with the Indians. Captain Edward Hutchinson and Captain Thomas Wheeler were sent to negotiate a treaty for the embassy. They and 20 men marched from Cambridge on July 28, 1675. They arrived near Brookfield on August 2, 1675. There they were met by two or three hundred Indians there. Eight people were killed and five were wounded. On September 1, 1675 Lt. Phinehas Upham and Captain Gorham, with one hundred men moved towards Nitmuck county. They wanted to burn the Indians food and houses so they would die over the winter. In November 1675 the Indians captured the people of Hassanamisset. The Indians destroyed the deserted buildings of Worcester. February 1, 1676 the Indians destroyed the house of Thomas Eames in Framingham. The Nitmucks attacked Lancaster on February 22, 1676. In April 1676, three groups of men directed by Captain Sill, Captain Cutler and Capitan Holbrook, three groups of cavalry directed by captain Brattle Captain Prentince and Captain Henchman set out towards Hansanamisset. Instructions sent by the council state that King Philip with several sachems and few fighting men were in Quaboag and Pakachoag. Upon arriving they found out that King Philip was gone a few days before. September 13, eight Indians shot to death on Boston Common, thirty were sold as slaves, the rest were sent to Deer Island where many died of famine and lack of shelter from the cold. The town council ordered that all Indians should go to Natick, Stoughton, Lowell, Littleton and Hassanamisset to be confined with a circle around their dwelling. After the death of King Phillip on August 12, 1676, the war ended. Second Settlement Of Worcester In 1678 the town committee ordered the planters to return to Worcester before the year 1680. However no one returned until 1682. On April 24, 1684 the committee decided to split up 480 acres of meadow. There was to be 200 acres for planters, 80 acres for public uses, 200 acres to be laid out for the northern division of Worcester. Mills were set up and the towns name officially became Worcester. During the winter of 1702, Indians broke into Digory Serjent's house and killed him. They took his wife and children captive. The settlement was abandoned. Third settlement of Worcester June 14, 1714 a report was sent to the Committee. It stated that settlers wanted to move back into Worcester. The report was accepted Jonas Rice, a planter during the second settlement returned to Worcester October21, 1713. He and his family were the only people in Worcester until the spring of 1715. In 1715, Jonas' brother Gersham came to get his own land. The third settler to come was Nathaniel Moore from Sudbury. In 1718 many Scotch and Irish immigrants landed in Massachusetts. A group of Scotch immigrants moved into Worcester, but were not treated kindly. In 1722 war arose with the Indians. In the autumn of 1723 seven people from Worcester signed up to be soldiers and served during the winter. In the spring of 1724 many hostile Indians hid in the woods ready to kill. Soldiers were stationed at Worcester until the 29th of October 1724. On August 3, 1724 Uriah Ward, a soldier from Worcester was killed. On April 8, 1725, many Indians started moving in from Canada. Soldiers were sent to stop them. There was word of a French attack in 1746. This was the beginning of the French and Indian War. Worcester was not a center of attack in this war. AMERICAN REVOLUTION The people of Worcester decided to defy the British. On October 21, 1765, Captain Ephraim Doolittle was instructed not to go along with the stamp act. A convention of Blacksmiths was held from September 8 to November 8, 1774 in Worcester to determine what would be best for their business during the war. They decided that they would not do any work for the British and their supporters. Though few battles happened in Worcester County the settlers assisted in the war effort in many ways. Early in May 1776, 15 prisoners from the British Army were sent to Worcester. June 29, 1776, all of the towns in Worcester were required to deliver their gunpowder to the committee. Worcester gave three barrels. They also were asked to give blankets and clothing for the soldiers. Soon after General Washington requested for more blankets. Worcester County gave 598. On March 13, 1778 more clothes were needed for the soldiers. Worcester furnished 62 sets of shirts, socks and shoes. On September 14, 1780 more blankets were needed. Worcester supplied 31. May 4, 1780, Worcester supplied 43 sets of blankets, shoes, socks and shirts. In addition to all of these goods, Worcester County had to supply over 600 men. Worcester also helped transport beef and other goods to the soldiers. After the War After eight years of war, Massachusetts was bankrupt in resources. They only had the continental copper and paper money in the treasury. They were being drained of money, in taxes, because of the war. Shays Rebellion Daniel Shays was an Army Captain in the Revolutionary War. He was angry because his Continental Dollars weren't worth anything. He started a Rebellion and mobbed Courthouses in Northampton, Great Barrington, Worcester, and Concord. On Wednesday, December 6, 1786 the Worcester militia assisted other town militia in ending Shays Rebellion. Shays was seized and put in a guarded room until his trial. To summarize, the History of Worcester from 1684 to 1786 was a time of conflict for the settlers. They fought with the Indians and then with the British. Then finally they fought with themselves. 1786 until 1860 was a relatively peaceful time for the settlers. This is my report on Worcester History. Kathryn M. Grade 7. SSS |
 |
 |
| Purchase and Deed |
| On July 13, 1674, Daniel Gookin came to Pakachoag Hill, where Holy Cross College now stands, bringing with him a carefully-drawn-up deed and some cloth and two coats as evidences of good faith. Solomon, alias Woonaskochu, Sagamore of Tatassit, and John, alias Hoorrawannonit, the Sagamore of Pakachoag, met him there, and signed the document |
 |
On April 2, 1731, Worcester was chosen by the General Court to become the new county seat. Worcester County was made up of five towns taken from Suffolk County and seven towns from Middlesex County. (Erskine, 25) While Worcester lacked waterpower and good transportation over the hills, it now held the county seat; Worcester would prosper for the next hundred years. Worcester could not join in the Industrial Revolution without power or good transportation. In 1822, the construction of a canal was discussed. The canal would run from Worcester to Providence, Rhode Island, following the Blackstone River. (Erskine, 52) Construction began in 1826, bringing a population of Irish workmen to Worcester. The canal was completed in 1828. (Erskine, 53) The canal proved to be an unreliable source for transportation and waterpower. It froze in the winter and eroded the banks in the spring. When there was drought, the canal would dry up. Worcester could not support any large textile mills because of the lack of reliable waterpower. Instead, smaller mills in Worcester made the tools and machines needed by others. There was a great demand for highly skilled and sober workers, which led to the initiation of a temperance movement in Worcester. (Erskine, 54) In 1829, the legislature proposed a railroad from Boston to Worcester and continuing on to Springfield. The first locomotive arrived in Worcester on July 4, 1835. People were sure that the railroad would solve Worcester's problems. A third railroad, to Providence, was added in 1847, which made Worcester the center of a network of railroads. The canal closed the same year. (Erskine, 58) Worcester became a city in 1848, with a population of about 17,000. (Southwick, 3) The first mayor elected was Levi Lincoln, a distant relative of Abraham Lincoln. (Erskine, 66) Mechanical industry prevailed in Worcester with Ichabod Washburn's wire factory and different factories renting space and power in William Merrifield's buildings, which were powered by a steam engine. http://www.wpi.edu/l |
 |
|
| "With an aspect of newness on every object... All the buildings looked as if they had been built and painted that morning..." Charles Dickens on Worcester in eighteen forty two after staying two days. The city of Worcester has grown in many ways. Its population has increased vastly in the one hundred and fifty five years of being a city and the two hundred and eighty one years of being a town. It has come a long way, from the failing settlements in the sixteen hundreds to eighteen forty-eight, the year Worcester became a city, to today. I will try to sum up Worcester's history into eleven hundred words. Worcester started in sixteen seventy four when Daniel Gookin traded two coats, four yards of cloth, and a small amount of money in exchange for a deed to eight square miles of land. In sixteen sixty seven a committee was appointed to "lay out, settle, and manage a plantation" in the "lands near Lake Quinsigamond". The chairman of the committee was Daniel Gookin. The committee thought the "lands near Lake Quinsigamond" would make a good city or town was because it lied right between Springfield and Boston and could traveled to from Springfield or Boston in a day. But with the Indian wars and the fighting nearby the first settlement was lost. Everybody fled from the settlement in fear of their lives. Ephraim Curtis survived the hardships and lived there for a year alone. But eventually about five or six families joined him in staying there. In sixteen seventy eight the committee directed the people to go back to their homes. But no one wanted to go back. Five years later, again threatened, a few courageous families went back and formed the second settlement. In sixteen eighty four the committee, for a reason that hasn't been fully determined, named their new settlement "Worcester". In the past it was called "Quonsigamog", "Quinsiganum", or "Quinsigamond" Village. Many of the towns people didn't really care how the village name was spelled and pronounced because in early town records the village name was spelled as many as twelve different ways. But just because they had a new name didn't mean they had adequate defenses against the Indians. The villagers had to flee to surrounding towns that were armed and ready and some people fled to towns that extended as far as Boston. But one man, Digory Sargent, refused to leave. Twelve soldiers were ordered to remove him from the town they got there too late. The Indians got to him first. The soldiers buried him under his oak tree where Worcester Academy presently stands. In seventeen thirteen Jonas Rice saved the city of Worcester. He came here and built a house where Digory Sargent had died. He lived there for over a year, just him and his family. Jonas holds the title of "first permanent settler of Worcester", the first school teacher in Worcester, the first town clerk, and the first selectman of Worcester when it was founded in seventeen twenty two. In seventeen thirty one the town took a giant step in becoming a city by becoming a Shire town of the new Worcester County and the center of the new county. Though Worcester didn't have much size it did have great location. Shire towns were known for their holidays of amusement. They held wrestling matches, they permitted horse racing on the main streets, and they even watched the punishment of criminals for fun. During the Pre-Revolutionary days many towns people would get involved in peoples disputes and quarrels. They take sides and it would rip apart the town. For example when one man introduced choir singing and instrumental music into the church the town became outraged at the thought of change. Most of the villagers were in the agriculture business. They were all of the Puritan religion and believed in working hard with little play. During the American Revolution twenty percent of Worcester's population participated in the war. The Minutemen were led by Colonel Timothy Bigelow and Captain Benjamin Flagg, both of Worcester. Many of the villagers went into great debt after the Revolutionary war. Cash was very scarce and many people resorted to a bartering system. Isaiah Thomas did a great deal of things for Worcester, Boston, and Massachusetts. At night Isaiah had his printing press moved across the Charles River. He did this to avoid the British soldiers that he often got into trouble with. He took his printing press to Watertown where a friend lent him a horse. Isaiah then road to Worcester where he set up his printing press in Timothy Bigelow's basement. That is where he printed Worcester's first newspaper. He also founded the largest publishing house in the US, built the first paper mill, he introduced Masonry to Worcester, he planned the Boston to Worcester railroad which was finished in eighteen thirty five, and founded the world famous American Antiquarian Society. Worcester lost many important and tall buildings due to fire before they had the Worcester Fire Society. One of the society's founders was Isaiah Thomas. The group was limited to thirty members, but the thirty that made it lived a high life. The firefighters held many big social dinners with orations and speeches, but only until the fires were all put out. From the Worcester Fire Society came eleven mayors, three governors of Massachusetts, one US Attorney General, and several United States senators and representatives. The actual fire department made its first appearance in eighteen thirty five. From eighteen thirty to eighteen forty eight Worcester underwent a big expansion. Two reasons for this expansion was the wave of invention and the forming of railroads. The loom, the sewing machine, the cotton gin, and the lathe were all invented in Worcester. Also Worcester was a center of industry. It was a factory filled city that based its attention on industry. Some of the goods made here were leather goods, firearms, carpets, clocks, watches, coaches, sleighs, and textile mills succeeded. But the biggest industry that helped the town was the making of wire. Wire was demanded in many new inventions and Worcester met those demands by producing it. In eighteen thirty three there were fifteen streets. By eighteen forty eight there were sixty streets and two years later, eighteen fifty, there were seventy more streets. The town was obviously growing very rapidly. But the question was whether to pave the roads or not. When they were unpaved there was dust in the summer, snow in the winter, and mud in between. But paving and stone blocks were expensive. So they decided to pave Front Street and Main Street. They also decided that a street that crosses Main St. should have a different name on either side. Worcester was a bustling city with its railroads connecting to many cities including Albany and Providence. The Worcester Spy, a daily Worcester newspaper, called Worcester "Rail Road City." In eighteen forty seven the town fathers decided that the board of selectmen had to be replaced with a better system. Most of Worcesters citizens were in favor of the change, though it did mean higher taxes. On November eighth eighteen forty seven at a town meeting, "on motion of John Milton Earle, it was voted that a committee of ten be appointed to draw up and present to the Legislature a petition for a city charter." On February twenty ninth in eighteen forty eight the governor signed the charter and Worcester became a city. On April eighth the city held its first election for mayor and Levi Lincoln Jr. became first mayor of Worcester. He was born in seventeen eighty two and he died in eighteen sixty eight on Worcester's twentieth anniversary of becoming a city. Levi was a former Massachusetts governor, a former member of the state's Supreme Judicial Court, and a former U.S. Congressman. According to the report of the Committee on Finance, "The Treasury was empty and a debt outstanding against the city of $99,677. By the charter, the city was to assume all the liabilities of the Town of Worcester, the Centre School District, and the Aqueduct Corporation." And if that wasn't enough Worcester's population would quintuple in the next fifty years making it the second largest city in New England. The city had its work cut out for them. Indian attacks, an industrial revolution, and an expansion that is quite remarkable, Worcester has survived them all. Over the next years I believe Worcester will continue to grow in population and in business. It was neat learning about how Worcester was founded and formed. Before doing this paper I didn't know who Levi Lincoln Jr. was or why eighteen forty eight was so significant in Worcester history. I have enjoyed learning about Worcester and writing about it. Evan W. Grade 7 SSS |
 |
 |
 |
| A Salisbury History Stephen Salisbury the second was an important and prominent person in our society of Worcester because of his great business skills. He was born in 1798. Stephen Salisbury II was the son of Stephen Salisbury I. Stephen Salisbury I also played an important role in industry as well as his son. He came to Worcester in 1867 from Boston and established a branch of his family’s store. He was famous because he designed Worcester as a center of trade between Providence, Boston ports, and many small towns in New England in the Early19th century. The land he owned on the west side of the city was passed on to Stephen Salisbury II. His wife was Elizabeth Tuckerman. Salisbury I died in 1829. Salisbury II is one of the greatest merchants and businessmen of his time and era. He was also one of the richest. Salisbury II also held shares in railroads and the Blackstone Canal. In 1840, he was elected to be in the American Antiquarian society and became president of that society in 1854. The American Antiquarian Society was founded in 1812. It is an independent research library of American history, literature and culture located in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Just a bit of background.) He remained in his job as president for thirty years. Next, Salisbury II became president of the Worcester Bank from 1884 until he died in 1884. He was an amateur historian and wrote books with results of his research in them. These books were called “Memorial of Governor John Endecott” and “Reception of Governor John Winthrop.” In 1865, along with his other jobs, Salisbury II was voted president for the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science, also known as the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Stephen Salisbury II went to Harvard College, Leicester Academy and graduated in 1817. After going there, he practiced law for a little while in Worcester, The business skills that he had caused Salisbury II to go extremely far and become extremely prominent, as you can see from the list of jobs and presidencies above. There are many monuments that still stand today to honor and remember Stephen Salisbury. First there are the Salisbury laboratories. These are used for mechanical engineering, chemistry, and physics. Almost every academic department has done some form of research here. Another place to remember him is Salisbury Street. This street separates Institute Park from the Worcester Polytechnic institute, one of Salisbury’ s presidencies. There is also Salisbury Pond, which is located in Institute Park. Probably the most famous monument that still stands to this day is the Salisbury Mansion located on 40 highland street founded by Stephen Salisbury I in 1772. Now, the Salisbury Mansion. From the beginning: As explained earlier, Stephen Salisbury I came to Worcester to establish a branch of his family store. He was boarding with Timothy Paine at the time and needed a home. So the mansion was built as home and store, and then passed down from Salisbury generation to Salisbury generation. The Salisbury’s I, II, and III (who I will explain later) have done a lot of work to preserve this mansion. Stephen Salisbury I married Elizabeth Tuckerman, “Madam Salisbury” as she was called. They had Stephen Salisbury II. When Salisbury I died, Salisbury II took over. He married Rebekah Scott Dean of Charlestown New Hampshire in 1833 and they had Stephen Salisbury III on March 31, 1885. Soon after the child, Rebekah died in 1843. Stephen II married twice after that. First, he married Nancy Hoard Lincoln in 1850. She died in 1852. Then he married Mary Grosvenor Banks in 1856. She died in 1864. Madam Salisbury was the last to occupy the Mansion until her death in 1851. From 1854 to 1851 the mansion was called the Salisbury Mansion School. There were three acres of land surrounding it. From 1864 to 1870, Worcester directories tell us that Francis Hilliard and Samuel F. Haven living in the Mansion. Mr. Haven was the librarian of the American Antiquarian society. After Stephen Salisbury II came Stephen Salisbury III. The wife was Rebekah Scott Dean, Stephen 2’s first wife. In 1887, Stephen Salisbury III built the Salisbury laboratories with a donation of one hundred thousand dollars. This was to honor his father. I leaned a lot researching this project, especially at the Salisbury Mansion. Here is some information about the mansion itself. First, the original house was built in 1772. The location of the original Mansion was originally near the Worcester Vocational School. The Salisbury Mansion was restored in 1820 and moved to forty Highland Street. Stephen Salisbury II built another mansion next to his father’s. Right now, the American Red Cross chapter house is in the place of that house. As you know, Stephen Salisbury I moved to Worcester from Boston to move his store and get more business. He sold goods in his store such as hardware, cooking supplies, baking foods, and everyday needs. The Salisbury’s invested in the Blackstone Canal to bring goods from one place to another. The railroad changed that. They also owned a lot of farmland. The Salisbury’s were very religious people. Martha was always reading the bible. If you go to the Mansion, you will find that there are at least four or five bibles in there. They also wrote to each other a lot. Right after Martha was widowed in 1829 (which was obviously when Stephen I died), Stephen Salisbury II went on a grand tour to Europe. This was from 1829- 1832. Martha was extremely depressed and lonely, so the mother and son wrote to each other often. Martha died in 1792. There were some very interesting features inside of the Salisbury mansion. There were photographs of different members of the family in each room. Each one depicted something he or she liked the most. In the room that Martha Saunders stayed in, there was a miniature version of the mansion in dollhouse form. John Heron made this in 1830. On the walls of two rooms, there was the original piece of wallpaper in front of the renovated one. They look identical except for the fact that one is older. There were about five fireplaces in the house also, which means that there were five chimneys. It was very hard and expensive to keep a house heated in that time. There are many oil lamps in the mansion also. John Hancock made the nice furniture in the home. So, in conclusion, The Salisbury’s were a very important family in the history of Worcester. It was great to research and learn about a family who helped our city grow in industry and history. Bianca C. Grade 7 SSS |
 |
| The Salisburys of Worcester |
| Stephen Salisbury II 1798-1884 |
 |
| Stephen Salisbury I |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Worcester Massachusetts, 1890 WORCESTER, the capital of Worcester County, is an enterprising mercantile and manufacturing city 44 miles west-by-southwest of Boston, 43 miles northwest of Providence, and 53 miles northeast-by-east of Springfield. Its latitude is 42° 16´ 17´´ north, and its longitude 71° 48´ 13´´ west. The city is the centering point of six railroads, namely, the Boston and Albany Railroad, the Norwich and Worcester (leased by the New York and New England Railroad), the Worcester and Nashua, the Providence and Worcester, the Worcester and Fitchburg, and the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad. With these roads entering at various points of the compass, transportation facilities are afforded convenient to the outlying villages. These are Lake View, Quinsigamond, Barbers (which are the post-offices), Barnardville, Blithewood, Bloomingdale, Greendale, Jamesville, Leesville, New Worcester, Northville, Tatnuck, Trowbridgeville, East Worcester, South Worcester and Worcester Junction. The Union Passenger Station at Worcester, of hewn granite, is one of the handsomest and best-equipped stone structures of the kind in the country. The adjoining towns are West Boylston on the northeast corner, with Royalston nearly in contact [Boylston, actually]; Shrewsbury on the east; Grafton at the southeast angle; Millbury and Auburn on the south; Leicester on the west of the southern section, succeeded by a corner of Paxton; while Holden lies along the northwest line. The form of the town is quite irregular. The area is about 36 square miles, of which 20,835 acres are assessed land. The woodland embraces 2,923 acres; containing a variety of trees, with a large proportion of chestnut in the eastern part. The geological structure of the territory consists of the St. John's group, Merrimack schist, and ferruginous gneiss, in which occur steatite, beds of clay and peat and of iron-ore. The land is charmingly diversified by rounded hills and winding valleys, through which some of the tributaries of the Blackstone River make their way, and furnish some motive power. Mill Brook runs through the city proper, furnishing much power, and affording a terminal channel for the excellent sewerage system. It has its origin in North Pond, in the northern part of the town, and is the main stream of the Blackstone River. The other principal streams are Broad-meadow Brook in the southern section, Kettle Brook in the southwest, and Tatnuck Brook in the western section. Hills and elevated land surround the township; and within are Winter Hill in the north, Tatnuck Hill in the west, Prospect Hill in the centre, and Millstone Hill in the east commanding a fine view of Lake Quinsigamond and the hills and vales of Shrewsbury, divided from the city on its whole eastern side by this beautiful sheet of water. These and lesser eminences, as well as the vales and plains, are covered with well-cultivated farms, orchards and gardens, interspersed with attractive farmhouses, and often with handsome residences. " There is scarcely to be met with, in this or any other country," says Prof. Edward Hitchcock, referring more especially to the central section, "a more charming landscape than Worcester presents from almost any of the moderately elevated hills which surround it. The high state of agriculture in every part of the valley, and the fine taste and neatness exhibited in all the buildings of this flourishing town, with the great elegance of many edifices, and the intermingling of so many fine shade and fruit trees, spread over the prospect beauty of a high order, on which the eye delights to linger." The extensive territory of this city embraces the large number of 349 farms; whose product in 1885 was $620,756. The manufactures are exceedingly numerous. The leading articles are boots and shoes, cut shoe goods, carriages, rail-cars, boilers, rolled and sheet iron, machinery, tin, copper and brass goods, wire-work, fire-ovens, edge-tools, wrenches, files, shoe and other artisans' tools, ploughs and other agricultural implements, doors, sashes and blinds, screws and other metallic articles for mechanics' uses, furniture, organs, men's clothing, corsets, hosiery and other cotton, woollen and worsted goods, cards, card clothing, looms, dye-stuffs, chemicals, oils and paints, bricks, tiles and pipes, paper, envelopes, boxes, cards and other paper goods, leather, belting, harnesses, trunks and valises, packed and butchers' meat, flour and meal, tobacco articles, and beverages. The whole number of establishments, as enumerated in the industrial census for 1885 (recently published), was 772; employing about 25,000 persons, and producing goods to the value of $28,699,524. Worcester is the location of the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company, noted for its wire; the G. H. Whitcomb Company for its envelopes; the Ames Plough Company, for its ploughs,—of which it makes 30,000 a year, of 150 or more patterns. There are other makers of the first two articles. The power-loom industry originated in Worcester, and there it has been developed to an extent that has made the Worcester looms famous throughout the world. There are now three loom works in the city, the annual product of which is valued at $2,500,000. [Knowles Loom Works] Worcester has seven national banks, whose aggregate capital stock is $2,250,000; and four savings banks, carrying deposits, at the close of last year, to the amount of $23,081,684. The population in 1885 was 63,389; of whom 14,843 were legal voters. The valuation in 1888 was $64,502,636,— with a tax-rate of $16 on $1,000. There were 8,720 taxed dwelling-houses. The public schools in the city are graded, and include a high school and a State Normal School, The school-houses belonging to the city were 43 in number, and were valued at $1,034,939. Several of them — the high school especially — are superior structures. The Worcester-County Free Institute of Industrial Science is a school of great value and high repute. Its principal building is constructed of colored stone from Millstone Hill, and occupies a fine eminence in the northern section of the city. It is a free school of technology, founded by the liberality of the late John Boynton, of Templeton, in Worcester County, who gave $100,000 for the institution on condition that the city of Worcester should furnish the buildings. A grant of $50,000 was made by the State and a donation of $100,000 by the Hon. Stephen Salisbury, for the school. It was also provided with a well-furnished machine-shop, costing about $80,000, by the generosity of the late Ichabod Washburn. The Oread Institute, a picturesque structure of stone, in the form of a feudal castle, and occupied as a young ladies' seminary, makes an impressive appearance in the southern section. The College of the Holy Cross is delightfully situated on the northern acclivity of Packachoag Hill. Other schools are the Highland Military Academy, the Worcester Academy, the Orphanage of the Sisters of Mercy, the Union Church Free Kindergarten, two business colleges and several others. The State Normal School has a beautiful building of colored stone on a commanding eminence in the easterly section of the city. A valuable feature of this school is the apprenticeship system in teaching; and another is the systematic psychological observation of children. [the Public High School, Worcester] The Worcester Free Public Library contained, in 1885, about 63,000 volumes, and occupied a building valued at $40,000. There is a new and noble structure for the purposes of a public library now building. This institution has been made uncommonly useful to the community through its connection with the city schools; a result which has been largely owing to the exceptional qualifications and zeal in this work of the librarian, Mr. Samuel S. Green, — of long experience and wide repute. [The Oread Institute, Worcester] The latest, and prospectively the greatest, of the institutions of this city, and possibly of the country, is the Clark University, established in 1887 by Hon. Jonas G. Clark, a citizen who, by enterprise and the exertion of great native ability, had acquired a very large fortune. For years he cherished the purpose of founding an institution that would not interfere with, but supplement all others, by making its object the enlargement of the boundaries of human knowledge. He wisely chose to guide the formation of the institution himself, and has therefore, while still in the vigor of life, given the sum of $2,000,000 for a basis of an institution of philosophical research, to be eventually extended in all directions within the scope of human observation. He has associated with him in the conduct of the institution several gentlemen of acknowledged eminence; and Prof. G. Stanley Hall, of the Johns Hopkins University, has been chosen as tile president; and several teachers of high ability have already been associated with him. [Clark University, Worcester] Several of the institutions have large and excellent libraries; and the aggregate number of volumes in the public, professional and association libraries in the city (excluding those of church and Sunday schools) was 236,750. Of these was the county law library, of 9,000 volumes; that of the Natural History Society, an active and beneficial institution; and of the American Antiquarian Society, founded in 1812 by the munificence of Isaiah Thomas, the most celebrated American printer of his time; which has a large collection of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and objects of biology; and the Worcester Antiquity Society, which has similar collections, but of a more local and social nature. The Worcester County Musical Association, having its organic centre in this city, was started some thirty years ago, and is now fitted, probably, to do more for music than any other institution of the kind in the country. Its annual musical festivals have won for the city the reputation of being an important musical centre. The influence of the society in the city is nowhere more quickly perceived than in the churches. The number of these is forty-one. They include 9 Congregationalist, 7 Baptist, 6 Methodist, 6 Roman Catholic, 3 Protestant Episcopal, 2 Unitarian, 2 Universalist, a Free Baptist, an Evangelical Lutheran, a Friends, a First Church of Christ, an African Methodist, and an undenominational church. [the State Normal School, Worcester] Some of these edifices are noble churchly structures; of which St. Paul's — a strictly Gothic form — is esteemed one of the finest; and All Saints (Episcopal) and the Central Church (Congregationalist) are notable for their beauty. The new quarters of the Young Men's Christian Association are such as reflect credit upon the architect and the city. Among the public institutions of Worcester of a specially benevolent character, the Worcester Lunatic Hospital stands at the head. Its enormous granite structure is delightfully located by the lake in the eastern section of the city. it has 1,000 feet of frontage, and consists of a central administration building with thirteen wings extending from each side; each one being so constructed as to admit light and air on all sides. In May, 1889, this building contained over 800 patients. Another public building of note is the county court-house, a handsome structure of granite. Mechanics' Hall is the place for great audiences — seating about 2,000 persons; and the elegant theatre will accommodate, probably, two thirds as many. Horticultural Hall, Washburne Hall, Grand Army Hall and Insurance Hall, fall successively from the last number, but are mostly pleasant places. There are many handsome business blocks, while some of the factories have a very striking appearance. The Old South Meeting House—of the first parish of Worcester, organized in 1716—has recently disappeared; but its old neighbor, the town-hall, though neither imposing nor beautiful, still stands, serving. well the city uses. From its social and political influence, Worcester is sometimes, and not inappropriately, called "The Heart of the Commonwealth." [Trinity Methodist-Episcopal Church] This place was incorporated as a town, October 15, 1604 [sic, actually 1722]; and was named for the ancient city of Worcester, on the Severn, in England. Its incorporation as a city occurred February 20, 1848. Quinsigamond, now applied to the lake at its eastern border, was the Indian name for Worcester. The Indians inhabiting here were probably Nipmucks. They were much under Christian influence, and King Philip tried in vain to induce them to join his cause against the whites. The first permanent settlement by the latter appears to have been in 1713, when Jonas Rice returned to the home from which dread of the Indians had driven him and others,— the wife of one (Dickory Sargent) having been killed by them in 1704. In 1718 a number of Scotch-Irish families, from Londonderry, came in. The people evinced a sturdy patriotism during the Revolutionary war, and were active in suppressing Shay's Insurrection. During the war of the Slaveholders' Rebellion the city was prompt to furnish its full quota of men and to sustain its full share of the expenses. "The Massachusetts Spy" was first issued in Worcester by Isaiah Thomas (previously mentioned) May 3, 1775. His press was set up three days prior to the battle of Lexington; and thus "the first thing printed in Worcester" contained an account of the battle of Lexington. From this press, also, came the first folio Bible printed in the United States. The present newspapers and journals of the city are the Evening Gazette, Evening Telegram, and the Spy, dailies; La Travailleur (French), semi-weekly; the Sunday Telegram, the Ćgis and Gazette, the Massachusetts Spy, the Christian Weekly, Le Courrier de Worcester (French), the Home Journal, Ostra Postfen (Swedish), Veckoblad (Scan.), weeklies; the Eastern Medical Journal, semi-monthly; the Messenger of Truth, the Piedmont Mission Builder, and the Pocket Guide, monthlies. Worcester is the native place of the following distinguished persons: Col. Timothy Bigelow (1739-1790), a Revolutionary patriot, and member of the Provincial Congress 1774-1775 (to whom there is an elegant monument); Benjamin Adams (1765-1837), B. U. 1788, an able lawyer; Levi Lincoln, LL.D. (1782-1868), governor of the State from 1825 to 1834; Lewis Bigelow (1785-1838), a prominent lawyer; Charles Allen, LL.D. (1707-1869), an able statesman; William Lincoln (1801-1843), an editor and antiquary; George Bancroft, LL.D. (1800), an eminent historian and statesman; Manton Marble (1835), an able editor and author and Dorothea L. Dix, a well-known philanthropist. Nason and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890, pp. 712-720 |
 |
| Oread Institute A Woman's College Founded By Eli Thayer The Castle-Like Structure Was Located On Goat Hill |
 |
 |
 |
| Additional info to be added soon! |