Bristol County, Massachusetts - Chapter 1: Acushnet, 1924

Acushnet has a distinction among the southwestern towns of Bristol county of having preserved one of the original Indian names from oblivion, or as near the original as may be, since old clerks and writers have spelled Acushnet with forty-two variations. For a period of twelve years, or from the time of the purchase from the Indians in 1652, to June 8, 1664, when all this territory became Dartmouth, the settlements were called by original names; and afterwards, as new divisions were made and new towns appeared, Acushnet survived among New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth and the Westports. Here the old town roads take the same direction as the early paths that brought John Cooke of Indian War garrison house fame, and son of Francis Cook of the "Mayflower," from Plymouth; and throughout this town and country are to be seen some of the oldest and some of the best preserved of the gambrel-roof houses of 1712 and thereabouts to 1770. The late Henry Worth, Esq., antiquarian, made a very complete survey of the old homes of this part of the county, and his collections included within the work of the late Franklyn Howland are of great value, since he has followed out the ownership of most of the ancient dwellings from the time of their building.

But the Acushnet of today also is a town of handsome, modern residences, attractive churches and schools. The population is over 3,000, the personal estate is valued at $474,956, the real estate at $2,680,470. It is second youngest town in the county, the act of incorporation having been approved February 13, 1860, and the town clerks since that time have been Benjamin White, George P. Morse, Dennis Mason, Alden White, Henry F. Taber, George T. Parker. Acushnet town meeting was first held in the engine house east of the bridge, March 14, 1860; from 1874 to 1878 at the Parting Ways schoolhouse; from 1878 at the old District Four schoolhouse. Hon. William W. Crapo has pointed out the fact that Acushnet Village was fifty years older than Bedford Village, and that there, in the early days, was the seat of government of old Dartmouth. He states that in 1739 a new town house was ordered to be built (this then being Dartmouth), and that it was in the Acushnet section; and the vote of the town indicated that the town house that superseded it was also in Acushnet.

In regard to the naming of the town, and the preservation of the Indian name, Franklyn Howland states in his history: The leaders of the movement for division were Jones Robinson, Rev. Israel Washburn, Cyrus Clark, Captain Martin L. Eldridge, Colonel Abiel P. Robinson, Walter Spooner, Benjamin White, William H. Washburn, Jabez Wood, Levi Wing and other townsmen. Their efforts were crowned with success, the com- mittee of towns in 1860 reporting in favor of an act to incorporate the town of "North Fairhaven,' a name by which this section of the town had been previously known. And the new town would have unfortunately been christened by the name of "North Fairhaven" had not Captain Eldridge led a protest against it, upon discovering the name in the bill as it passed the senate. He at once wrote the senator from this district, to have the bill held up until he received a petition to change the name. Then Captain Eldridge wrote a petition to the Legislature, which was liberally signed, to strike out the words "North Fairhaven" and insert the word "Acushnet."

The Wars. - The town has experienced the hardships and sufferings consequent upon all wars, beginning with that of the last struggle of the natives in 1675, when King Philip's warriors ravaged the settlements in their effort to get back what Massasoit and Wamsutta had peacefully exchanged in 1652. The historian Howland states that every house within the bounds was consumed by fire. The people had been here but a little while, some of them no more than twenty-five years, and now they were homeless and almost penniless in the midst of barbarous war.

The town was in arms against the encroachments upon the rights of the colonists on the part of the mother country at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and at town meeting of July 18, 1774, it was voted to "boycott all articles manufactured in Great Britain and Ireland," and the town also voted to take measures against the use of Bohea tea. Before the war had started, committees of correspondence and safety were appointed, including such men in this part of the town as Captains Philip. Taber, Seth Pope, Thomas Crandon, Seth Hathaway, Hannaniah Cornish, Walter Spooner, Obed Nye. Acushnet shared in the results of the invasion by the British on that memorable Saturday, September 5, 1778, when the enemy sailed from New London, Connecticut, in two frigates, an eighteengun brig-of-war and six transports, and with fire and sword almost annihilated the little settlement. All along the route of the invaders through this village, old homes were destroyed, following the demolition of the Fort Phenix at the entrance to Bedford harbor.

Five hundred men from Dartmouth, in which Acushnet was included at the time, were furnished for the Continental army. Among them were: Eleazar Hathaway, James Spooner, Jonathan Cushman, Thomas Crandon, Reuben Hathaway, David Hathaway, Daniel Bennett, Elisha Parker, Jonathan Hathaway, Elnathan Jenney, David Pope, David Spooner, lemuel Cushman, John Hathaway, Jethro Taber, Silas Hathaway, Jesse Keen. Samuel Parker was among those from this part of the county who were incarcerated at Dartmoor prison.

In the War of 1812, many of the townsmen of the Acushnet section participated, including such leaders as Captain William Gordon, Judge Ecward Pope, Captain Reuben Swift, and many others. In the Civil War, fiftv-six soldiers and sailors cast in their lot for the Union cause.

Churches and Schools. - The first church to be established in this section of the Dartmouth country was the Precinct church of date 1696, and the first minister was Rev. Samuel Hunt. The building of the church was begun immediately by the society that called themselves "The people of God Called Presbyterians." A protest made by Dartmouth against being assessed as a town for the support of the minister, brought about the result that Quakers and Baptists be exempted from paying taxes for town churches. The new meetinghouse of the society was dedicated January 5, 1744, the Precinct meetinghouse, as it was called, and that stood until 1837, when it was sold and torn down. Mr. Hunt's successors in the ministry here were: Revs. Richard Pierce, Israel Cheever, A. M., and Rev. Samuel West, D. D., who was pastor of the church forty years. Owing to the removal of many of the membership and congregation to adjoining towns, the life of this society was brought to a close.

Methodist preachers began to come to this part of the town to preach their doctrines before the year 1800. Captain John Hawes was the means of bringing here in 1805, Rev. Epaphras Kibby, a Methodist preacher, who with the aid of a congregation organized the Methodist Episcopa! Church of Fairhaven in August, 1807. Eight persons constituted the original membership. The first meetinghouse of the society was built in 1811. Another building that was dedicated March 9, 1854, was destroyed by fire December 11, 1904. The present stone building was built on the old foundation, and dedicated December 1, 1905.

Methodist Episcopal interests at Long Plain were first provided for in 1825, when Rev. Phileas Crandall was appointed to the charge. He was succeeded in 1825 by Rev. Leonard B. Griffin, and in 1828 the "Sniptuit" chapel was built on the hill of that name. A Methodist Episcopal society was organized at Long Plain in 1857, and Rev. Philip Crandon was given charge of the church. The church worshiped in a small chapel previcus to 1862, in which year the church building was erected.

The Friends first began to meet at the present Acushnet in 1708, and a meeting of worship was established by quarterly meeting the next year. It is probable that the original house was built in 1729. The Acushnet Preparative was a part of Dartmouth Monthly Meeting till near 1760, when it joined with the Sandwich Monthly Meeting; and again, in 1795 the Acushnet and the Long Plain societies became part of the Dartmouth Monthly Meeting, so remaining to the present time. 'The present meetinghouse at Parting Ways, Acushnet, was built in 1871, when the old meetinghouse was torn down.

The Baptist church in the present Long Plain section was organized April 27, 1787, by Elder Daniel Hix. The first church was built in 1796, south of the present Baptist meetinghouse, and Elder Hix continued tv be the minister to his eightieth birthday. The church was incorporated March 14, 1805, as the First Baptist Society in New Bedford, this section then being part of that town. In 1837 the society brought its interests to a close temporarily, owing to varying denominational doctrines being preached, Elder Hix himself joining the "Christian" sect.

A Friends Meeting was begun at Long Plain in 1755, about which time the house was erected. One hundred years afterwards the building was reconstructed, and in 1900 it was remodeled as to the interior.

As an outcome of the denominational differences among the Baptists, whose religious interests waned in 1837, the First Christian Church of North Fairhaven (now in Acushnet) was begun in October, that year. From this society was started the Perry Hill church. Another outcome of the 1837 inactivity of the old Long Plain Baptist Church was that of the reorganization of the society October 16, 1838, with Rev. Ira Leland as pastor, the society joining the Taunton Association. The present church was dedicated April 28, 1847. The Advent society was organized in this part of the town in 1858, and their church building constructed that year. In the early part of 1828 the Congregationalists began holding meetings in the Phenix schoolhouse. A small church building was constructed that was destroyed by fire February 5, 1865. The present church building was dedicated January 10, 1867. It was renovated and rededicated in 1889. St. - Xavier Catholic Church was built in 1915, a former building of the Catholic people of Acushnet having burned at that time.

Among the better known of the former schools were Union Seminary, established in 1844 by Gideon Nye, Jireh Swift, and John R. and Obediah Davis, with Alonzo Tripp as the first and only principal, the school being discontinued after 1847. The Long Plain boarding school was started in 1831 by Rebecca H. Davis, a school that was in existence about twenty years; here also were the Kempton school of 1830 and the Russell school of the early 1850's. It is probable that the first district schoolhouse in Acushnet was located at Parting Ways, where Eliokim Willis taught in 1738. Subsequently, schoolhouses were built on the north side of the road between Lund's Corner and the bridge, on the lot at the north side of Tarkiln hill, and on the lot south of the Congregational church property. Soon after 1812 the town was divided into nine districts, each of which supported a school. In 1874 Schoolhouse No. 4 was dedicated, this being the present town house and library. The schoolhouse at Long Plain was built in 1875; the Perry Hill school in 1877; the old schoolhouse at Parting Ways was enlarged in 1901; the Marie S. Howard school was built in 1919-1920; the Mason W. Burt school in 1921. The appropriation for the maintenance of the schools in this town in 1923 was $45,775, the total school membership being 827. Charles Holmes was superintendent of schools.

Industries, etc. - It is stated that the first vessels to be built along Acushnet river were built in this part of the town before the year 1800. Emery Cushman started the Cushman box factory business in 1874. The mill was destroyed by fire August 1, 1904, but was soon rebuilt, and furnished employment to about sixty men. So early as 1707 there was a mill on the old mill lot, and since that time there have been a number of saw and box mills at the location, the last grist mill disappearing in 1903. At the site of the Acushnet Saw Mill Company's plant, Captain William Gordon had a wool-carding mill in 1818; a Mr. Almy manufactured cloth, batting and candle-wick in 1834; Shadrack Davis made nail kegs in 1836; Jonathan P. Lund with Charles W. Morgan built a paper mill in 1840. In 1867 Parkman M. Lund sold the plant to various other parties, and in March, 1907, a corporation was formed with Jonathan C. Hawes as president. Other cotton factories on the river have been the White Brothers' factory, the Whelden factory, and the Ansel White factory; and other industries no longer active were the iron mine on the Morse homestead, and Taber's mills.

with James Taber as postmaster, and it was transferred to Acushnet Village February 11, 1829, with Gustavus Gilbert as postmaster. The name of the office was changed to Acushnet in 1864. The postoffice at Long Plain was established in 1834.

Acushnet's Free Public Library was opened June 13, 1896, and a branch was soon afterwards established at Long Plain, and one at Perry Hill. The first trustees of the Acushnet Library were: George J. Parker, chairman; Mrs. Anna H. Bradford, treasurer; Miss Emily A. Brownell, secretary.

Close to the centre of the village is situated Pine Lawn Sanitarium, the former Nye estate, that was purchased in 1900 by Mrs. L. E. Ashley for the care of invalids.