Norfolk County, Massachusetts - Chapter 14: The Town of Cohasset, 1918

Chapter 14: The Town of Cohasset

By the act of March 26, 1793, establishing the County of Norfolk, the towns of Hingham and Hull were included in the new county. Before the act went into effect, the people of these two towns presented a petition to the General Court, asking that they be permitted to remain a part of Plymouth County. The petition was granted and on June 20, 1793, the very day the law went into effect, that portion of the act relating to Hingham and Hull was repealed. This left Cohasset detached from the main body of Norfolk County. On the north, south and west it is bounded by parts of Plymouth County, and on the east by the waters of Massachusetts Bay. Cohasset is noted for its rocky coast line, and' for the number of shipwrecks that occurred there during the days of the old sailing vessels. The Indian name of this part of the coast was "Conohasset" (sometimes written Quonahassit), which means "long, rocky place." Along the sea shore the scenery is rather picturesque, the rocky bluffs being indented by numerous bays and coves, among which are Cohasset Harbor, Sandy Cove, Little Harbor and "The Gulf.'' There are no streams of consequence in the town, though in the southern part is Lily or Great Pond, a pretty little body of fresh water.

First White Men

Capt. John Smith, who visited Cohasset Harbor on his voyage of 1614, was the first man to make a report on this part of the Massachusetts coast. He traded with the Indians of Cohasset, from whom he purchased "neer 1,100 bever skins, 100 martins and neer as many otters.''

Among the Indians living in what is now the Town of Cohasset there was a faint tradition that white men had been there prior to the visit of Captain Smith. In 1568 about one hundred men were abandoned on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico by Capt. John Hawkins. David Ingram and two others of the marooned men started northward and by following the Indian trails reached the New England coast. Subsequently Ingram was rescued by the crew of a French vessel, who found him on the shores of New Brunswick. From the story told by him to his rescuers, it is possible that he and his two associates were the white men of the Cohasset Indian tradition.

In 1633 Edmond Hobart, with his wife, his son Joshua and his two daughters, Sarah and Rebekah, came from Hingham, England, and landed at Charlestown. Later in the same year they were joined by Edmond Hobart, Jr., his wife, his brother Thomas, with his wife and three children, Thomas Lincoln and Nicholas Jacob, all from Hingham, England. Most of the available land about Charlestown had been allotted to those who came earlier, and the newcomers began looking about for a suitable place to found a new settlement. They selected the place called Bare Cove, on the inside of the Nantasket peninsula. Under the order of 1629, any man who would cross the Atlantic at his own expense was to be given fifty acres of land. The settlers at Bare Cove availed themselves of this order and on September 25, 1634, the little colony there was taxed four pounds as a plantation.

On June 8, 1635, twenty-eight more persons arrived at Charlestown. Among them was Rev. Peter Hobart, a son of Edmond Hobart, Sr., and a graduate of Cambridge College, England. This company joined the colony at Bare Cove, the name of which was changed to Hingham on September 2, 1635. Rev. Peter Hobart was asked to become the pastor of several of the early churches, but cast his lot with the settlement at Hingham, where he was the first minister.

On April 19, 1637, Thomas Loring, Clement Bates, Nicholas Jacob and Joseph Andrews were granted a monopoly of the herring fisheries of the river "over towards Cohasset," called "Lyford's Liking." Lyford was an Irish preacher who came to Plymouth in 1624, but was dismissed from that colony for treachery. In 1625 he settled near the mouth of this stream, which doubtless derived its name on account of his "liking" the location. After Loring and his associates built their fish weir, the stream took the name of Weir River, which it still bears. One condition of their monopoly was that they should "sell fish at not more than ten shillings and sixpence per thousand."

Some time in the year 1637 the settlement at Hingham adopted the system of having nine picked men to manage the affairs of the colony. The first men selected for this purpose were: Edward Hobart, Sr., Nicholas Jacob, Clement Bates, Henry Tuttle, Thomas Hammond, Anthony Eames, Henry Rust, Samuel Ward and Thomas Underwood. They had authority "to receive any person into the municipality ; to give, grant, let & set, all for the good of the whole," but had not the power to fix the rate of taxation. A rule was adopted that if any one of these nine men should fail to attend a meeting he should be fined "one peck of Indian corn."

The nearest place where the settlers of Hingham could have their corn ground into meal was the little corn mill in what is now the Town of Weymouth. A bare trail was the only road to the mill and it sometimes happened that a settler would fall a tree and leave its trunk lying across the pathway. On April 11, 1637, the people decreed at a meeting that if any man should fall a tree across the road, so that a horse and cart could not pass, he should be fined twelve pence.

At the beginning of the year 1638 the population of Hingham was forty-two. In that year the ship "Diligent" brought over 133 immigrants to seek homes. Several of them were mechanics, who brought their tools with them, and quite a number of the newcomers settled in Hingham, the mechanics especially proving a welcome addition to the little community.

Dividing The Land

As early as 1637 the people of Hingham went to the Cohasset marshes to harvest hay for their live stock. The first individual ownership of land within the present Town of Cohasset were the grassy plains called Turkey Meadows, at the foot of Turkey Hill. On March 5, 1638, these meadows were parceled out to some of the settlers in lots of about fifteen acres each, in order that they might be certain of a supply of hay for their cattle. During the next two years there was a marked increase in the number of inhabitants, and on July 6, 1640, it was "agreed by joint consent that after the newcomers and others, which come short, the old planters' accommodations be made up by equal proportions, according to their stocks and necessities - that the remaining part of Conyhasset shall be divided by equal proportions according to the men's heads and stocks, twenty-five pounds in stock to go by equal proportion to a head."

Although the language used in framing this agreement is somewhat ambiguous, the settlers seemed to understand just what it meant, as they divided the land without dispute under its provisions, a man who possessed live stock worth twenty-five pounds receiving twice as much land as the one who owned no live stock. Nine men were chosen to make the division, viz. : Joseph Peck, Nicholas Jacob, Henry Smith, Edmond Pitts, John Parker, Henry Tuttle, Nicholas Baker, Thomas Hammond and Clement Bates. By this division each of the newcomers secured a small tract of the Cohasse't meadows. Joseph Peck and Nicholas Jacob were evidently men of some prominence among the pioneers. The meadow lands drawn by them in the division of 1640 still bear their names. Peck's meadow is situated at the foot of the Richardson Hill on the north side, along the Jerusalem Road, and Jacob's meadow is crossed by South Main Street, not far from the Catholic Church.

On February 28, 1648, Thomas Hammond, Clement Bates, Joshua Hobart, Nicholas Jacob, William Hersey, Anthony Eames, John Otis, Matthew Cushing and Joseph Underwood were appointed to make a second division of the "Cohasset Meadows," or that portion of them that had not been allotted to settlers in the division of 1640. Among those who received tracts of meadow land in this division were : Thomas Andrews, Nathan Baker, Clement Bates, Thomas Barnes, James Buck, William Chapman, Mark Eames, Francis James, Philip James, Andrew Lane, Matthew Lane, Thomas Lincoln (cooper), Thomas Lincoln (carpenter), John Morrick, David Phippeny, William Ripley, Thomas Thaxter, John Tower, Joseph Underwood, Edward Wilder and Ralph Woodward.

Surveyors of the present day would probably look with disdain upon the methods employed by the nine men selected to divide the Cohasset meadows in 1640 and 1648. With chain and wooden stakes, they measured and marked off the marshes in the neighborhood of Little Harbor, and in the case of some irregularly shaped pieces of land they "guessed" at the number of acres. They were guided in their work, however, by a spirit of fairness and impartiality, and if any dissatisfaction arose over the division it has not been made a matter of record.

There still remained some undivided land in what is now the Town of Cohasset after the action of February, 1648. On July 4, 1665, the three sons of the Indian sachem, Chickatabot, deeded the lands now comprising Hingham and Cohasset to Joshua Hubbard (or Hobart) and John Thaxter for the inhabi- tants. The consideration named in that deed was satisfied by granting twelve acres "on Turkey Hill, on the north side of a way leading to Scituate, to Lieut. John Smith and Deacon John Leavitt, on condition that they satisfy all the charge about the purchase of the Town's land," etc.

At a meeting held on January 17, 1670, about four and a half years after the Indian title was extinguished, the settlers "determined to throw the whole of their undivided lands into seven hundred shares, and then distribute those shares by an open vote, and afterwards to survey the land, giving pieces to each shareholder according to the number of his shares."

Under this arrangement there were about fourteen hundred acres of land to be distributed, hence each share entitled the holder to approximately two acres. Daniel Cushing, then the town clerk, received thirty-five shares, the largest number given to a single individual by the "open vote." Peter Hobart, pastor of the church, received twenty-five shares; Joshua Hobart, eighteen; John Thaxter, sixteen and a half; John Smith and Nathan Baker, fifteen shares each; John Leavitt, fourteen and a half; John Ripley and Jeremiah Beal, thirteen each; Thomas Hobart, John Beal, Sr., Thomas Lincoln (husbandman), Edmond Hobart, John Tucker, Thomas Lincoln (carpenter), Edmond Pitts, Thomas Andrews and John Otis, ten shares each; the other participants being awarded from three to eight shares each, except Clement Bates, Jr., who received but one share.

The Hingham Rebellion

In 1644, several years prior to the division of the Cohasset lands, Anthony Eames, lieutenant of the militia, became so disgusted at the awkwardness displayed by the local company that he used some sarcastic language and refused to drill the men. Eames had been elected captain, but had not yet been confirmed. To punish him the members of the company held a meeting and elected Bozoan Allen in his place. The colonial authorities refused to concur in this action, which meant that Eames must remain at the head of the company until the next session of the General Court. Two-thirds of the company refused to drill under Eames and the Boston magistrates issued warrants for the arrest of the offenders. Five men were arrested - three of them members of the Hobart family - and by order of Deputy-Governor Winthrop two were lodged in jail.

When the General Court met ninety men from Hingham and Cohasset appeared with a petition asking that Winthrop be tried for exceeding his authority in committing the men to jail. Rev. Peter Hobart, pastor of the church, was at the head of this movement, and Joshua Hobart was also quite active. The latter was fined twenty-five pounds. A smaller fine was imposed upon the pastor, on account of his calling, but he refused to pay and his fine was increased to twentyfive pounds. Altogether the penalties levied against the recalcitrants amounted to one hunderd and twenty-five pounds. The incident disturbed the peace of Hingham for several years. The people stood by their pastor, paid his fines, and apparently regarded him with more esteem than before the affair. Some years afterwards he was forbidden to preach in Boston, the magistrates assigning as the reason that "He is a bold man and will speak his mind." Hon. Thomas Russell, in an address delivered at the centennial anniversary of Cohasset, May 7, 1870, in referring to this controversy, said :

"We lose patience as we read the story of this contest. We smile at the superstitious bigotry of Winthrop, who finds a Providential interposition when some Hingham men made light of the colony's fast and, attempting to take a raft to Boston, were delayed a month by bad weather. But while we criticise and smile, we should remember that Hobart and his friends were believed to threaten the powers and rulers of the province, and that such threats imperiled the right of self-government. We know, also, that they were dreaded because they troubled the churches, and those that troubled the churches were believed to endanger souls. On both sides we find error, on both sides sincerity - the great manly virtue from which all virtue springs. There have been men of gentler disposition than Peter Hobart, of more enlightened views than Governor Winthrop, of more refined taste, of more graceful speech than any of the Pilgrim Fathers ; but those men have no New England for their monument."

While the turmoil was at its height a few Hingham families left the town to find peace in some other locality. Lieutenant Eames was ostracized for a time by a majority of the militia company and their intimate friends, but it seems he was restored to the good graces of the community, as he was one of the nine men appointed to divide the lands in February, 1648. And after all, the spirit which moved the people of Hingham and Cohasset to protest against the sarcasm of their military commander and what they regarded as the tyranny of Governor Winthrop, was the same spirit of independence which cemented the American colonies together more than a century later in their resistance to British oppression, a resistance which culminated in the Revolution and resulted in the establishment of a republic.

District Of Cohasset

Early in the Eighteenth century the few settlers in Cohasset became dissatisfied because of the great distance they had to go to attend church or to send their children to school. In 171 1 the Hingham tax list showed that there were thirtysix people in Cohasset against whom poll taxes were assessed. The taxable property of that year consisted of "22 dwelling houses, 48 oxen, 78 cows, 31 horses, 213 sheep and 14 hoggs." The total tax was about fifty-four pounds. As the residents of that section of the town paid a considerable portion of the taxes, they asked to be relieved of part of the burden and permitted to establish a church and school within easy distance. In response to this request, the Hingham town meeting of May 14, 1713, voted "That the Inhabitants of Conahasset shall have Liberty to get up and erect a meeting house there on that land called the Plain."

While the citizens of the Town of Hingham were willing to allow the petitioners the privilege of building a church, they failed to remit any part of the tax, consequently the people of Cohasset did not "get up and erect a meeting house." On March 7, 1715, they submitted three propositions to the Hingham town meeting, to-wit : First, that the eastern portion of the town be made a separate precinct, so the people there could tax themselves for the support of a church and school ; second, that they be allowed something out of the town treasury to help maintain a church; third, the abatement of the sum paid to the minister in Hingham. All these propositions were rejected by the town meeting.

Hingham and have a town meeting called for the purpose of securing satisfaction for the Conohasset pioneers." The meeting was held the following month, at which it was voted "That the inhabitants of Conohasset, that is to say the inhabitants of the First Division and Second Division & part of the Third Division of Conohasset upland to the fifty-fourth lot of the Second Part of the Third Division, be freed from time to time from paying toward the support of a minister in Hingham during the time that they provide an orthodox minister among themselves, provided they cheerfully accept of the same."

But the inhabitants of Conohasset did not "cheerfully accept" for the reason they considered the burden imposed was too heavy for them to bear. In March,

1716, the Town of Hingham voted "to allow £17. 19s. 6d. out of the town treasury towards maintaining the worship of God in Conohasset." That sum represented Cohasset's share of the church and school taxes for the preceding year and the money was ordered to be paid to John Jacob. It appears that Mr. Jacob, probably advised by some of his neighbors, refused to accept the money, and in February,

1717, the town was again asked to establish a precinct. In the summer of that year a committee appointed by the General Court again visited the town to investigate the conditions. Upon the report of this committee the Court passed an act on November 21, 1717, creating a precinct of Cohasset, "alias Little Hingham," and setting off the inhabitants in the matter of church and school.

The first meeting in the new precinct or parish was held on July 14, 1718, Daniel Lincoln presiding as moderator and Thomas James acting as clerk. The principal business transacted at this meeting was that of accepting the act establishing the precinct. At a subsequent meeting a fast was appointed for the third Thursday in April, 1719, in order to call a minister to the parish. Mr. Pierpont was then called and Mr. Spear in the spring of 1721. No regular minister was settled, however, until September, 1721, when Nehemiah Hobart was installed as pastor. In 1727 the precinct petitioned the General Court for liberty to apply taxes to the support of schools, which was granted, and the first school was opened in the fall of 1728.

During the next quarter of a century the population grew steadily and at a meeting held on February 11, 1751, "A vote was tryed whether we should Petetion the other parte of ye Town that we might be Sett off a distinct District or Township - Passed in ye affirmative." John Stephenson, Samuel Cushing and Isaac Lincoln were appointed a committee to present the petition at the Hingham town meeting in May, where it was "Passed in ye negative." Similar action was taken by a precinct meeting on March 4. 1752, with the understanding that if Hingham again refused consent the question should be taken to the General Court. At the Hingham town meeting on May 14, 1752, the petition was rejected, but the records do not show that the question was at that time carried to the General Court. Another efTort was made in March, 1753, when the original committee was reappointed and instructed to "get the matter before the General Court," but in this instance the records are also silent as to the general result.

Repeated rebuffs had discouraged some of the people of little Hingham and they became somewhat indifferent on the subject. Enough maintained their interest, however, to present the "double barreled" petition again in March, 1756, one to the Town of Hingham and the other to the General Court. At the Hingham town meeting on May 19, 1756, the petition was again rejected

Parish Committee for calling meetings, &sf. "Gentlemen - We the subscribers apprehending that it will be for the advantage of the Inhabitants in the Second Parish of Hingham to be made a District Do hereby Apply to you in behalf of Our Selves and others Requesting that you would forth with Call a Legal Meeting of sd Inhabitants To See whether they will vote to apply to the Town at theire Annual Meeting next March to bee incorporated or Set off as aforesaid.

"There to chuse a Committtee in order to make the Application to the Town and also to transact any other matters or things that Shall there Bee thought Conducive to Accomplish this Beneficial End wee have in view, as Wittness our Hands. "Daniel Tower, John Stephenson, Isaac Lincoln, Solomon Bates, Amos Joy, John Wilcott, Israel Whitcom, Samuel Cushing, Jonathan Near, John Stephenson, Jr., Isaac Lincoln, Sr., Jonathan Pratt, James Litchfield, Mordecai Lincoln, Obadiah Lincoln, David Marble, Jr., Israel Whitcom, Jr., Job Whitcom, Lot Whitcom, John Pratt, Joshua Bates, Abel Kent, Thomas Lincoln, Price Prichart, Micah Nichols, James Hall, Cushing Kilby, Uriah Oakes, Charles Ripley, Mordecai Bates, Elisha Bates, Laz Beal, Jr., Nehemiah Bates, Newcomb Bourn, Jonathan Beals, Mijah Clapp, Thomas Pratt, Solomon Cushing, Benjamin Stetson, Hezekiah Lincoln, Benjamin Beals, Richard Tower, Caleb Joy, Noah Nichols, Joseph Bates, Isaac Tower, Enoch Stodard, James Stodard, Philip James, Abner Bates, James Bates, Joshua Burr, John Beal, Isaac Burr, Thomas Nichols, Job Tower, James Stetson, John Tower, Daniel Tower, Jr."

In response to this petition a meeting was called for January 25, 1768, at which it was voted to petition Hingham and the General Court for a charter and "to be invested with all the Libertys and Privileges of a Town, that of sending a Representative to the General Court only excepted, and that they have the Liberty of joining with ye Town of Hingham in the choice of a Representative from time to time."

Isaac Lincoln, Jr., John Stephenson, Jr., and Laz Beal, Jr., were appointed a committee to lay the matter before the Hingham town meeting. When that meeting assembled, Hingham refused the request of the petitioners and appointed Joshua Hersey, Benjamin Lincoln, Jr., Joseph Andrews, Joseph Thaxter and Theophilus Cushing a committee to prepare and present a remonstrance to the General Court. Nothing definite was accomplished until March 28, 1770, when the General Court appointed Jonathan Bradbury, Colonel Gerrish and Major Bancroft as a special committee "to repair to Hingham, as soon as may be, view the said Parish and report to the Court what in their opinion is proper to be done." The committee was entertained at the house of Lazarus Beal and the expense of the investigation (£4. 17s. iod.) was charged to the Town of Hingham. On April 25, 1770, the committee reported in favor of the petitioners and they were given liberty to frame a bill for the establishing of a district. The bill had evidently been prepared in advance of the committee's report, for on April 26, 1770, "An Act for incorporating the Second Precinct in Hingham into a District by the name of Cohasset," became a law.

Although called a "district" in the act of incorporation, the law provided "That the inhabitants thereof be and hereby are invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities which the inhabitants of Towns within this Province do, or by law ought to enjoy (that of sending a Representative to the General Assembly only excepted) and that the inhabitants of said District shall have liberty, from time to time, to join with the Town of Hingham in the choice of a Representative or Representatives."

Not only were the inhabitants invested with the powers, privileges and immunities of a town, but they were also required to perform all the duties required of towns. Benjamin Lincoln was named in the act as "empowered to issue a warrant to some principal inhabitant of said District of Cohasset, requiring him to call a meeting of said inhabitants, in order to choose such officers as towns are by law empowered to choose," etc.

First Town Meeting

Benjamin Lincoln issued a call for a meeting to be held on May 7, 1770, "at Cohasset meeting house on the Common." Isaac Lincoln was chosen moderator and the following town officers were elected : Joseph Souther, Daniel Lincoln and Isaac Lincoln, selectmen, assessors and overseers of the poor; Daniel Lincoln, clerk; Thomas Bourne, treasurer; James Litchfield, Ephraim Lincoln and Abel Kent, school committee. The act of April 26th, incorporating the district, was accepted and it was "Voted to ask that the style of 'district' be changed to 'town.' ': This was not done, however, until 1786, when the General Court passed an act that all districts incorporated prior to 1777 should be, to all intents and purposes, towns.

Town Hall

The town meetings were held in the First Parish Church until 1832. In 1797 a company of persons erected a building for a private school. In 1832 the town authorities obtained the use of this building, where meetings were held until the erection of the present town hall in 1857. It is a substantial frame building, two stories in height, and when first built the lower floor was used for some years for the high school. The original cost of the hall was about four thousand dollars, but an addition was made to it some years later, a heating plant and plumbing fixtures installed, giving the town ample accommodations for the transaction of public business. The building contains offices for the town clerk, assessors, selectmen, etc., and a large hall for holding public meetings. It is well preserved and the common in front of the Cohasset Town Hall is one of the prettiest spots in Norfolk County.

Cohasset Water Company

Prior to 1887 the Town of Cohasset depended upon wells for its water supply. On April 26, 1886, fourteen men met and organized the Cohasset Water Company, which was incorporated a few days later. Several plans were considered for ob- taining water for the people of the town, but the one finally selected was that of driving a number of deep wells in the meadow called "The Picle," pumping the water to a reservoir on the top of Bear Hill, from which it could be forced by gravity pressure to all parts of the town. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $100,000 and as soon as a sufficient amount had been paid in work on the plant was commenced. The reservoir on Bear Hill, with a capacity of 1,500,000. was constructed and connected by pipes with fifty-four wells in "The Picle." Mains were laid on the principal streets and the first water was supplied in the early autumn of 1887. Within recent years there have been some complaints about the quality of the water and the rates charged by the company, and there have been numerous expressions in favor of the purchase of the plant by the town, but nothing definite had been done up to July 1, 1917.

Fire Department

The Cohasset Fire Department dates back to April 30, 1807, when the following petition was presented to the board of selectmen : "To the Selectmen of the Town of Cohassett :

"To see if the Town will Accept of a Fire Engine with Bucketts &c Compleat According to Law, to be procured and paid for by Mr. Elisha Doane, Jr., Mr. Nichols Tower, Mr. John Nichols, Mr. Joseph Lincoln, Mr. Wm. Whittington and such others as may Joyn them to the number the Law allowes and to be Compleated aggreeable to Law in the course of Nine Months - with the proviso, that if the Selectmen should at any time hereafter appoint Engine men to the exclusion of the present applicants, or any of their Associates or Assigns, then the Town shall reimburse to those who they may exclude all expences they may have been at."

The petition w7as signed by Laban Bates, Elisha Doane, Abel Kent, Jr., Thaddeus Lawrence, Israel Nichols, James Stoddard, William Stutson and Joel Willcutt. At the May meeting the proposition was accepted and a few months later the engine was placed in commission. It was soon discovered that the engine was not a paying investment, on account of a scarcity of water, the only source of supply being the wells and some small ponds, and several years passed before the department was placed upon an efficient basis.

In 1905 a fire alarm system was installed and at the annual town meeting on March 6, 1916, it was "Voted that the sum of $4,820 be raised and appropriated, and that $1,000 of this amount be expended under the Board of Engineers for the purpose of repairs to the fire house at the cove, said repairs to consist of installing a new heating plant and such other repairs as in their judgment are most necessary." The board of engineers at that time was composed of Henry E. Brennock, chief; George Jason, assistant chief; George F. Sargent and Sidney L. Beal, district chiefs. In their report at the close of the year they announced that the repairs had been made. The department then consisted of two combination engine and hook and ladder companies - one at Cohasset and one at Beechwood - and a hose company at North Cohasset.

Electric Light

On July 28, 1890, a company was formed for the purpose of lighting the towns of Cohasset and Scituate by electricity. It was incorporated on the 12th of August the same year under the name of the "Electric Light and Power Company of Abington and Rockland." Work on construction was pushed forward with commendable energy and on September 14, 1890, the streets of Cohasset were lighted for the first time by electricity. The Hingham Municipal Electric Plant also furnishes a number of lights, especially in the vicinity of North Cohasset.

Miscellaneous

One of the early settlers in Cohasset was Mordecai Lincoln, the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States. Mordecai Lincoln received a grant of land on Bound Brook and built a mill on that stream. Prior to that time the nearest mill was at Straits Pond, but it could run only when the tide was out of the Weir River. The volume of water in Bound Brook was not sufficient to run a mill constantly, but Mr. Lincoln's ingenuity was able to overcome this difficulty. He built three mills - one at Turtle Island, one at Beechwood and the third at Bound Rock. On Monday and Tuesday there was a sufficient head of water to run the mill at Turtle Island ; Wednesday and Thursday he could operate the mill at Beechwood ; and on Friday and Saturday the one at Bound Rock was kept busy. There is an old song entitled "The mill will never grind with the water that has passed," but the composer was evidently not acquainted with the method employed by Mordecai Lincoln, who used the same water three times. Mr. Lincoln also operated an iron smelter and forge, hauling his bog iron ore from Pembroke, a distance of ten miles, with ox teams.

During the first half of the Nineteenth Century shipbuilding was carried on at Cohasset and between the years 1820 and 1845 it was an important industry. Among the vessels that went out from the Cohasset yards were the brigs Eolus and Talisman, the Barque Hobart, the schooners Ansurla, Tower, Albicore, Myra, Convert, Talisman, William Bates, Bela Bates and Fleetwind. A number of the schooners were employed in the fishing industry, which is still a prominent feature of Cohasset's business enterprises.

The location of Cohasset makes it a desirable place for summer residence and many wealthy citizens of Boston own cottages along the coast, where they spend a large part of their time during the hot weather of July and August. The Boston & Plymouth division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway system passes through the town, with frequent trains, which enables these summer residents to make the short journey to the city whenever it becomes necessary. In 1910 the population of Cohasset was 2,585, and in 1915 it was 2,800. The assessed valuation of property in 19 16 was $9,802,964.

At the beginning of the year 1917 the town officers were: Selectmen, Assessors and Overseers of the Poor, Harry E. Mapes, William O. Souther, Jr., Herbert L. I'.rowe; Clerk, Harry F. Tilden; Treasurer and Collector, Newcomb B. Tower; Highway Surveyor, George Jason; Constables, Sidney L. Beal, Henry E. Brennock, John T. Keating, Louis J. Morris and Edward E. Wentworth.