Norfolk County, Massachusetts - Chapter 15: The Town of Dedham, 1918

Chapter 15: The Town of Dedham

Dedham, the shire town of Norfolk County, is situated a little north of the center of the county. It is somewhat irregular in shape ; is bounded on the north by the Town of Needham ; on the east by the City of Boston; on the southeast by the Town of Canton, and on the south and west by the Town of Westwood. It is separated from Needham by the Charles River, and the Neponset River flows between Dedham and Canton. The town is well watered by these two streams and their smaller tributaries. The surface is generally rolling or hilly, and the soil is of a sandy or gravelly nature, not naturally fertile, but by careful cultivation it can be made to produce fair crops of the grains, fruits and vegetables adapted to this section of the country.

Settlement And Grant

In May, 1635, the General Court gave permission to the people of Watertown "to remove whither they pleased, provided they continued under the jurisdiction of the court." Some of the inhabitants of those towns selected a location on the Charles River, and on September 3, 1635, the General Court ordered that : "There shall be a plantation settled about two miles above the falls of the Charles River, on the northeast side thereof, to have ground lying to it on both sides of the river, both upland and meadow, to be laid out hereafter as the court shall appoint."

The first settlement was made upon the new plantation in the fall of 1635 by people from Watertown and Roxbury. In March, 1636, the General Court appointed commissioners to set out the bounds of the plantation. The commissioners made their report on April 13, 1636. At that time it was a custom in New England for the settlers in anew community, before they were incorporated as a town, to form themselves into a sort of voluntary association and enter into an agreement to observe certain regulations until such time as the General Court should see fit to pass an act of incorporation. Pursuant to this custom, the settlers of the new plantation on the Charles River, soon after the bounds had been fixed by the commissioners, adopted the following

Covenant

"i. We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do, in the fear and reverence of Almighty God, mutually and severally promise amongst ourselves and each to other to profess and practice one truth according to that most perfect rule the foundation whereof is everlasting love.

"2. That we shall by all means labor to keep off from us all such as are contrary-minded,, and receive only such unto us as be such as may be probably of one heart with us, as that we either know or may well and truly be informed to walk in peaceable conversation, with all meekness of spirit, for the edification of each other, in the knowledge and faith of the Lord Jesus, and the mutual encouragement unto all temporal comforts in all things, seeking the good of each other out of all which may be derived true peace.

"3. That if at any time difference shall arise between parties of our said town, that then such party and parties shall presently refer all such difference unto some two or three others of our said society, to be fully accorded and determined without further delay, if it possibly may be.

"4. That every man that now or at any time hereafter shall have lots in our said town shall pay his share in all such rates of money and charges as shall be imposed upon him rateably in proportion with other men, as also become freely subject unto all such orders and constitutions as shall be necessarily had or made, now or at any time hereafter, from this day forward, as well for the loving and comfortable society in our said town as also for the prosperous and thriving condition of our said fellowship, especially respecting the fear of God, in which we desire to begin and continue whatsoever we shall by His loving favor take in hand.

"5. And for the better manifestation of our true resolution herein, every man so received to subscribe hereunto his .name, thereby obliging both himself and his successors after him forever, as we have done."

The Square. Looking East, Dkdham Franklin Square, Dkdham

The covenant bears no date to show just when it was adopted, and a few of the names attached to it were those of mere children, notably Timothy Dwight, Jr.. Isaac Bullard, Jonathan Fayerbanke, Jr., and John Houghton, some of whom were not more than five years of age at the time the covenant was first written.

The Town Incorporated

The oldest record of a town meeting in the settlement on the Charles River bears date of August 18, 1636. Another meeting held on the 5th of September was attended by nineteen persons, who adopted the following petition for presentation to the General Court, which was then in session :

"1. May it please this honored court to ratify unto your humble petitioners your grant formerly made of a plantation above the falls that we may possess all that land which is left out of all former grants upon that side of the Charles River. And upon the other side five miles square. To have and enjoy all those lands, meadows, woods and other grounds, together with all waters and other benefits whatsoever now being or that may be within the compass of the aforesaid limits to us with our associates and our assigns forever.

"2. To be freed from all country charges for four years. And military exercises to be only in our own town, except extraordinary occasion require it.

"3. That such distribution or allotments of lands, meadows, woods, &c, within our said limits as are done and performed by the grantees, their successors, or such as shall be deputed thereunto, shall and may stand for good assurance unto the several possessors thereof and their assigns forever.

"4. That we may have countenance from this honored court for the well ordering of the nonage of our society according to the best rule. And to that purpose to assign unto us a constable that may regard peace and truth.

"6. And lastly we entreat such other helps as your wisdoms shall know best in favor to grant unto us for our well improving of what we are thus entrusted withal unto our particular, but especially unto the general good of this whole weal public in succeeding times.

The nineteen men who signed this petition at the meeting at which it was unanimously adopted were : Edward Alleyne, Francis Austin, Thomas Bartlett, William Bearstowe, John Coolidge, Philemon Dalton, John Dwight, Richard Evered, John Gaye, Lambert Genere, Ezekiel Holliman, John Howard, John

Kingsbury, Samuel Morse, Nicholas Phillips, John Rogers, Abraham Shaw, Joseph Shaw and Ralph Shepherd. Some historians state that the petition was signed by nineteen inhabitants of the plantation, but as a matter of fact it was signed by twenty-two. The minutes of the meeting of September 5, 1636, state that "After ye assembly was dissolved Mr. Robte Feke came and subscribed his name unto ye said peticion. And Thomas Hastings and John Huggin did the like at Boston."

It appears that the petitioners lost no time in bringing the matter before the General Court, for on September 8, 1636, that body ordered that: "The plantation to be settled above Charles River shall have three years immunity from public charges, as Concord had, to be accounted from the first of May next ; that the name of the town shall be Dedham ; to enjoy all that land on the easterly and southerly side of the Charles River, not formerly granted unto any town or particular person; and also to have five miles square on the other side of the said river.'' It is from the date of this order that Dedham dates its incorporation as a town.

Naming The Town

Worthington's History of Dedham, published in 1827, says on page 31 : "The celebrated John Rogers, of Dedham, in England, had been forbidden to preach before our first settlers came to this country. Many of his people emigrated to this country and several to this town. John Dwight and his son Timothy Dwight, John Rogers and John Page were of this number. From this circumstance we may suppose the General Court gave to this place the name of Dedham. The inhabitants requested the General Court to give it the name of Contentment, which name is written over the records of the first several meetings. It appears to me that the word well expresses the leading motives of the first twenty-four settlers in coming into this town."

Original Territory

The grant made to the Town of Dedham by the act of September 8, 1636, was princely in its proportions, though rather indefinite as to boundaries. South and east of the Charles River it embraced the present towns of Dedham, Dover, Foxborough, Franklin, Medfield, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Walpole, Westwood, Wrentham, and nearly all of Bellingham. On the north and west of the river it included Needham, Medway, Millis, Wellesley, that portion of Bellingham on that side of the river, and parts of Natick and Sherborn. On the east the town extended to the grant of land to Israel Stoughton and others, and it was not until nearly a century afterward that the Neponset River was made the boundary between Stoughton (now Canton) and Dedham. The boundary line between Dedham and the towns of Dorchester and Roxbury was not definitely established for several years. Dedham might be appropriately called the "Mother of Towns," as more than half the towns in Norfolk County were included within the limits of its original boundaries, as well as a large part of the towns of Natick and Sherborn, in the County of Middlesex, and portions of Hyde Park and West Roxbury, which have since been annexed to the City of Boston.

A Few Pioneers

It is impossible, after a lapse of nearly three hundred years and in the absence of authentic records, to give the names of all the members of the first company that came to Dedham in 1635. The list of the signers of the covenant given above was compiled by Erastus Worthington in 1884. From this list and the annotations made by Mr. Worthington it can be determined with tolerable certainty that among those who came in each of the first three years of Dedham's history were the following:

1635 - Edward Alleyn, Philemon Dalton, John Dwight, John Ellis (or Ellice, as it appears among the signers of the covenant), John Gay, John Howard, Samuel Morse and Ralph Shepherd.

Concerning the character of these pioneers, especially those who came first,. Worthington says : "This company of men seems from their subsequent conduct, to have been a portion of that mixed population collected at Watertown, who possessed good sense and moderate principles and were desirous of forming a peaceable society. They were Puritans, but by no means of high proof. This company did in substance at least say to their fellow townsmen, whom they were about to leave: 'Let there be no strife between us and -thee, and between thy herdsmen and our herdsmen, for we be brethren ; if you go to the right we will go to the left, for is not the whole country before us?' "

Edward Alleyn was unquestionably the leading man of the company. There is a tradition that he wrote the covenant, and that he was active in bringing the petition of September, 1636, before the General Court is well known. When the town was incorporated in response to that petition, he was chosen a member of the first board of selectmen and the first records of the town are in his handwriting. Upon the establishment of the first church in 1638, he experienced some difficulty in being admitted, owing to objections caused by rumors regarding his conduct in England. The objections were removed, however, as soon as Mr. Alleyn could procure evidence from the mother country. In 1639 he was elected a representative to the General Court and continued a member of that body until his death, which occurred suddenly on September 8, 1642.

Philemon Dalton was linen weaver by trade. He came over in the "Increase" in 1635 ar,d located at Watertown. One account says he did not become a resident of Dedham until 1637, but as he was one of the first to sign the covenant and also the petition of 1636, it is certain that he was a member of the original company. About 1640 he went to Ipswich, where he died on June 4, 1662.

John Dwight first located at Watertown upon coming to America, but remained there only a short time before coming to Dedham. For sixteen years he served on the board of selectmen and it was from him that Dwight's Brook was named. His house stood near the brook, on High Street, and was removed in 1849 to make way for the railroad bridge. He died on the last day of June, 1674. When he first came to Dedham he was accompanied by his family. One son, Timothy Dwight, was then about five years of age. He grew up in Dedham, was town clerk for ten years and selectman for twenty-four years. In 1678 and again in 1 69 1 he was elected representative to the General Court. His death occurred on January 31, 1718.

Samuel Morse and his two sons - John and Daniel - were among those who came over in the "Increase" in 1635. He was one of the original proprietors of the plantation on the Charles River that afterward became the Town of Dedham. In 1 64 1 he was elected a selectman and served for two years. He died on June 20, 1654.

Ralph Shepherd came in the "Abigail" in 1635 and located at Dedham in the same year. After a short residence he removed to Weymouth and from there to Maiden. He then bought a farm at Concord and lived there for a few years, when he went to Charlestown. He died there on September 11, 1693.

William Bearstowe (correct family name "Barstow") was one of the passengers on the "Truelove" in 1635 and soon after landing he became interested in the Dedham movement. He was one of the signers of the petition for the incorporation of the town and afterward removed to Scituate. His brother George, who came over on the same vessel, in 1636 received an allotment of land in Dedham, but did not become a resident until several years later. He was a member of the Dedham artillery company for a time and then removed to Scituate.

Richard Evered was the founder of the American family bearing the name of Everett, of which Gov. Edward Everett was a distinguished member. He was elected one of the selectmen in 1661 and held the office for one year. His death occurred on July 3, 1682.

Ezekiel Holliman is mentioned in some of the early records as "a man of gifts and piety," though it seems he did not always conform to established customs. On March 12, 1638, he was "summoned" because "he did not frequent the public assemblies," and his case was referred by the court to the ministers for conviction. Previous to that time he had been fined for felling "one greate Timber tree for clapboards without his own lott," and also for covering his house with clapboards "contrary unto an order made in that behalfe." The following month the fines were remitted "in consideration of some moneyes disbursed by him for ye benefit of our Towne." About 1639 he removed to Salem and from there went to Rhode Island, where he became one of the founders of the first Baptist Church in America.

John Kingsbury came to Dedham from Watertown in 1636 and was one of the signers of the petition for the incorporation of the town. In 1639 he was elected one of the selectmen and served on the board for twelve years, and in 1647 he was elected representative to the General Court. He died in 1658.

Nicholas Phillips came to Dedham from Watertown and was one of the twentytwo men who signed the petition for incorporation. In August, 1639, he sold his property in Dedham to Rev. John Allin and removed to Weymouth. He died in September, 1672. His brother, Henry, who came about the same time, was a member of the artillery company in 1640, served as selectman in 1645, was an ensign in the militia company in 1648, and soon after that removed to Boston.

Abraham Shaw first settled at Watertown when he came to America. His house there was destroyed by fire soon after it was completed and he came to Dedham. The town granted him the privilege of erecting a water mill on the Charles River and gave him a tract of land for that purpose, but he died in 1638 before the work was commenced.

John Allin, who is further mentioned in the chapters on Church History, was born in England in 1596. Cotton Mather says he had been engaged in the ministry before coming to America, and because of his refusal to conform to all the ceremonies and requirements of the Church of England transplanted himself to New England. He was one of the founders of the first church in Dedham, of which he was installed pastor on April 24, 1639, a position he held until his death on August 26, 1 67 1.

Francis Chickering came from Suffolk, England, in 1637 and located in Dedham soon after landing in America. In 1641 he was elected one of the selectmen of the town and continued in that office for fifteen years. He became a member of the artillery company in 1643. In 1644 and again in 1653 he was elected representative to the General Court. His death occurred on October 2, 1658.

Eleazer Lusher, another pioneer of 1637, was for many years one of the most prominent men in Dedham. Worthington says : "He was the leading man in all his lifetime and directed all the important affairs of the town." For twenty-three years he held the office of town clerk, and to his careful and painstaking mariner of keeping the records the people of the present generation are indebted for a knowledge of early events. He was a member of the board of selectmen for twenty-nine years and he was also for many years a deputy to the General Court. Through his activity in organizing the Dedham Artillery Company he acquired the title of ''major," and in many other ways he was influential in promoting the interests of the town. In 1670 he was appointed commissioner of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to revise and codify the laws, and in 1672 he was appointed to examine and classify historical papers. He died at Dedham on November 13, 1672.

Michael Metcalf, whose name appears as one of the selectmen in 1641, was born at Tatterford, Norfolk, England, in 1586. On July 14, 1637, he landed in Dedham. Two years later, soon after the First Church was organized, he was appointed one of the committee "to contrive the fabrick of a meeting house." He died on December 27, 1644. An old chest and a chair, both handsomely carved, that he brought with him from England are now among the collections of the Dedham Historical Society. His youngest son, Thomas Metcalf, afterward became a deacon in the church, and represented Dedham in the General Court in 1694 and again in 1697.

First Town Officers

Although Dedham was incorporated as a town on September 8, 1636, no town officers were elected until May 17, 1639. At that time a board of selectmen composed of seven members was elected, to wit: Edward Allen (or Alleyn), John Bachelor, John Dwight, Robert Hinsdale, John Kingsbury, Eleazer Lusher and John Luson. Edward Allen was also chosen town clerk, which office he held until 1 64 1, when he was succeeded by Eleazer Lusher.

Erastus Worthington, writing in 1827, gives the following description of the village of Dedham, as it appeared twenty-nine years after the first settlement was established:

"In 1664 ninety-five small houses near each other were situated within a short distance of the place where the new court-house now stands ; the greater part of them east of that place and around Dwight's Brook. A row of houses stood on the north side of High Street, as that road was then called, which extends from the bridge over Dwight's Brook westwardly toward the court-house. The total amount of the value of these houses was 691 pounds. Four only of the houses were valued at 20 pounds. The greater number were valued from three to ten pounds. The greatest number of these houses were built soon after the first settlement was commenced. There were then very few carpenters, joiners or masons in the colony. There was no saw mill in the settlement for many years. The only boards which could be procured at first were those which were sawed by hand. The saw pits, now seen, denote that boards were sawed in the woods. The necessary materials, bricks, glass and nails, were scarcely to be obtained. These houses therefore must have been principally constructed by farmers, not by mechanics, and have been very rude and inconvenient. They were probably log houses. Their roofs were covered with thatch. By an ordinance of the town, a ladder was ordered to extend from the ground to the chimney, as a substitute for a more perfect fire engine. Around these houses nothing was to be seen but stumps, clumsy fences of poles, and an uneven and unsubdued soil, such as all first settlements in New England present. The native forest trees were not suitable shades for a door yard. A shady tree was not then such an agreeable object as it now is, because it could form no agreeable contrast with cleared grounds.

"Where the meeting house of the first parish now stands, there stood for more than thirty years a low building, thirty-six feet long and twenty wide, twelve feet high, with a thatched roof and a large ladder resting on it. This was the first meeting house. Near by was the school house, standing on an area of eighteen feet by fourteen, and rising to a height of three stories. The third story, however, was a watch house of small dimensions. The watch house was beside the ample stone chimney. The spectator elevated on the little box called the watch house, might view this plain, on which a part of the present village stands, then a common plough field, containing about two hundred acres of cleared' land, partially subdued, yet full of stumps and roots. Around him at a farther distance were the 'herd walks,' as the common feeding lands were called in the language of that time. One of these herd walks was on Dedham Island north of the Charles River, and one was at East Street and more fully in view. The other herd walk was on South Plain. The herd walks were at first no better cultivated than cutting down the trees and carrying away the wood and timber, and afterwards, when it was practicable in the spring of the year, burning them over under the direction of town officers called 'wood reeves.' Land thus treated would in the spring appear barren, for nothing would be seen but black stumps, the burnt soil and the rocks. It would scarcely appear better when the wild grass and cropped shrubs next succeeded. The meadows were not yet cleared to any great extent. Beyond these herd walks was a continued wilderness, which was becoming more disagree- able to the inhabitants, for the cattle, goats and swine seem to have allured the wolves to their neighborhood. The dense swamps about Wigwam Swamp were not yet cleared. The numerous dogs in the plantation, which were so troublesome to the worshipping assembly, were not a sufficient guard against wolves. The inhabitants for many years after this period encouraged their hunters by additional bounties to destroy these troublesome enemies."

This description has been reproduced here at some length, because it gives a fair idea of the conditions that prevailed at the time, and of the collection of houses that then formed the village. By comparing it with the Dedham of 1917 the reader can note the progress of two and a half centuries.

Training Ground

In 1644 the town proprietors set apart the triangular piece of ground at the junction of what are now High and Common streets for the use of the military company. This action was confirmed some four years later, as shown by the following extract from the town records :

"7th Mo. 10, 1648. Granted to ye trayned company of this Town and to ye officers thereof and to their successors for ever the Free use of all that parcell of land comonly called the Trayning Ground always provided that the said Trayned Company & the officers thereof shall not at any time hereafter appropriate the said parcell of Land or any part thereof or improve the same to any other use than to the Publick exercise of ye said Company without the consent of ye Selectmen of ye Town for the time beeing first attayned. Neither shall it be in the Libertie or Power of the Selectmen hereafter at any time to dispose of ye said parcell of Land or any part thereof in any case without the consent of ye said Trayned Company & the officers thereof first had and Manifest."

By the common consent of the selectmen and the officers of the military company, one acre of the ground was granted to Amos Fisher in 1677, and at the same time Daniel Pond was given permission to cultivate one and a half acres, for which he was to pay "thirty shillings in merchantable corn." Other persons were likewise given permission to cultivate certain portions of the field from time to time, enough always being reserved for the use of the company as a drill ground.

In February, 1687, the voters of the town being assembled in town meeting, and the town being in need of funds, it was voted : "That if any appear to purchase the Trayning Ground & will give betwixt 30 and 40 pounds in money or not much less it may be sold if the trayned company the military officers and the Selectmen approve thereof." No buyer presented himself and the field still remained in the possession of the town and the military company. About 1773 an alms house was built on the western side of the ground and remained there until 1836. when the building, "together with the land and appurtenances thereto belonging," was sold by order of the town. Later a street was opened through the ground to connect with Bridge Street, and in 1842 the citizens planted the shade trees along the borders of the field.

Early Mills

Realizing the importance of having some improved way of grinding their grain, one of the first acts of the Town of Dedham after its incorporation in 1636 was to grant to Abraham Shaw and his associates the privilege of building a mill on the Charles River. Shaw built a dam, which Mann says was located "about three-fourths of a mile southwest from the new bridge," but he died in 1638 before the mill was completed. The place where this dam was constructed is frequently referred to in the early town records as the "Old Mill," and it is possible that a mill of some kind was established there by some one after Mr. Shaw's death.

On March 28, 1639, it was ordered by a town meeting "That a ditch shalbe dug at common charge through Upper Charles meaddow unto East Brook that it may both be a partition Fense in the same and alsoe may form a suitable course unto a Watermill that is if it shalbe found fitting to sett a mill upon in the opinion of a workman to be employed for that purpose."

The ditch thus excavated became known as Mother Brook. At the same meeting at which it was ordered the town granted liberty to any one who would undertake it, to build a mill upon the stream and also to give him a lot of land adjoining the mill. It is not certain who was the first to avail himself of the privilege, but the records show that in 1641 "a foot path is laid out to the mill," indicating that a mill had previously been built and was then in operation. Not long after the foot path was laid out John Dwight and Rev. John Allin conveyed the mill to Nathaniel Whiting. He and his heirs continued in possession of the mill privilege until about the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, when it was sold to Benjamin Bussey.

In 1664 Ezra Morse and Daniel Pond asked the town for permission to erect a corn mill on Mother Brook, a short distance above the one owned by Mr. Whiting. Permission was granted and the mill erected, when it was discovered that it interfered with the rights of Whiting and a dispute arose, which finally resulted in the abatement of the new dam. This was the beginning of litigation over mill privileges and rights that went on for more than a century and a half, the last lawsuit of which there is any record having been settled early in the Nineteenth Century. Mann, in his "Annals of Dedham," says that soon after 1639, "Nathaniel Whiting and Ezra Morse became possessed of the principal mill seats in the town, and they have been held by their descendants to this day." That was written in 1847.

Joshua Fisher built a saw mill on the Neponset River in 1664, the town granting him liberal inducements to undertake the enterprise. It was on the southern border of the town and as part of the franchise agreement, Mr. Fisher agreed to saw timber for the citizens at a stipulated price. When Ezra Morse was driven from Mother Brook, he was granted a mill site on the Neponset, not far from Fisher's saw mill. This is no doubt the mill seat held by his descendants in 1847, as referred to by Mann. Draper & Fairbanks built a fulling mill on the Neponset in 1681. In 1700 the corn mill on Mother Brook, then owned by Timothy Whiting, was destroyed by fire and the town agreed to loan him twenty-five pounds, without interest, to rebuild it.

Dedham Island

Northwest of the village of Dedham the Charles River flows around a neck of land, which in early days overflowed easily, owing to the slight fall of the river at this point. Around the "horseshoe bend" of the river is a distance of almost five miles, while across the "heel'' of the shoe the distance is less than threefourths of a mile. To prevent damage to the meadows by overflows, the enterprising citizens of the town in 1652 conceived the idea of cutting a ditch across the neck, through the "Broad Meadows," thus uniting the two channels of the river and carrying off part of the water that came around the bend. Thomas Fuller and "Lieutenant" Fisher were employed to make a survey for the ditch, the construction of which converted the land inclosed in the bend into an island, since known as "Dedham Island." One of the first brick yards was established on the lot of Alichael Metcalf on this island, and along the narrow strip of land at the westerly end of the island ran the "Long Causeway," upon which a road was located in 1644, leading to the Great Plain, in what is now the Town of Needham.

In 1651 the General Court granted 2,000 acres for a new Indian town in Natick, in which were to be collected those Indians converted to Christianity by Rev. John Eliot and taught the arts of civilization. The land included in this grant was taken from Dedham, and the proprietors of the town were given the privilege of selecting 8,000 acres of any unlocated lands within the jurisdiction of the Court. Messengers were sent out to examine "the chestnut country" (believed to be somewhere near Lancaster, Worcester County), but they reported unfavorably. John Fairbanks and Lieut. Daniel Fisher were then sent to look at a tract on the Deerfield River, in what is now Franklin County. They passed through Sudbury, Lancaster and Hadley, all then infant settlements, and finally arrived at the valley. Upon their return Lieutenant Fisher reported as follows :

"We at length arrived at the place we sought after. We called it Petumtuck, because there dwell the Petumtuck Indians. Having ascended a little hill, apparently surrounded by rich meadow land, from that spot we beheld broad meadows extending far north, west and south of us. In these meadows we could trace the course of a fine river, which comes out from the mountains on the northwest, and running northerly through many miles of meadow, seemed to us to run in among the hills again at the northeast. The tall trees of buttonwood and elm exposed to us its course. That meadow is not soft and covered with coarse water grass like that around us here, but is hard land. It is the best land that we have seen in this colony. We dug holes in the meadow, with the intent to find the depth of the soil, but could not find the bottom. At the foot of the little hill we stood on is a plat of ground sufficiently large to build a village upon, and sufficiently high to be out of the reach of the spring floods. Providence led us to that place. It is indeed far away from our plantations and the 'Canaanites and Amalekites dwell in that valley,' and if they have any attachment to any spot on earth, must delight to live there. But that land must be ours. Our people have resolute and pious hearts and strong hands to overcome all difficulties. Let us go and possess the land, and in a few years you will hear more boast of it in this colony as a good land for flocks and herds than could ever be justly said of the land of Goshen, or any part of the land of Canaan."

a committee of six to repair to the place and cause the 8,000 acres to be located there. Capt. John Pynchon of Springfiefild was employed to purchase the lands of the Indians. He procured four deeds of relinquishment from the natives, for which they received ninety-four pounds and ten shillings. The tract afterward became known as the "Pynchon Purchase." In the records the name Petumtuck is spelled in various ways, but the one here used is the most common. In 1670 the number of proprietors of the new purchase was twenty-six, twenty of whom were inhabitants of Dedham. The tract was afterward incorporated as the Town of Deerfield.

Old-Time Taverns

The first mention of a public house of entertainment in the town records is in the minutes of a town meeting held in 1646, when Michael Powell was licensed to keep a taven, the location of which is now uncertain. Powell was at that time the town clerk.

Woodward's Tavern stood on High Street, where the Registry Building now stands. The exact date when the house was opened cannot be ascertained. In 1658 it passed into the hands of Joshua Fisher, who received a license from the town authorities to conduct a public house. He was succeeded by his son, who conducted the tavern for several years. About 1735 Dr. Nathaniel Ames became the landlord. His son, Fisher Ames, was born in this house on April 9, 1758. Richard Woodward assumed the management in 1769 or 1770. It was in this house that the committee drafted the resolutions in September, 1774, declaring in favor of armed resistance to Great Britain if it became necessary, the first open declaration of that character made by any of the colonists. The building was torn down in 1817.

Gay's Tavern, which stood on Court Street near Highland, and Howe's Tavern, farther north on the same street, were two noted hostelries in their day. The former, of which Timothy Gay was owner and proprietor, was a sort of political headquarters for years during the early history of Norfolk County. About 1803 the building was removed to the northwest corner of High and Washington streets, where it and several of the adjoining buildings were destroyed by fire on October 30, 1832. About sixty horses belonging to the Citizens Stage Company perished in the fire. The tavern was rebuilt by Mr. Gay, who christened the new building the "Phoenix House." It was opened in 1834 with James Bride as the landlord, and soon came to be widely known as "Bride's Tavern." At the time it was completed it was the finest hotel in Norfolk County and in its appointments rivaled some of the leading hotels of Boston. Under different names and different managers the house continued to do a good business until it was again burned to the ground on the morning of December 25, 1880. Among the distinguished guests of this hotel were Gen. Andrew Jackson, while President of the United States, and President James Monroe.

In 1801 Martin Marsh leased part of the Ezekiel Holliman tract and built a tavern on Court Street, almost opposite the court-house. It was opened in 1804, about the time the Norfolk & Bristol turnpike was completed, and soon became a popular stopping place for stage passengers. Mr. Marsh was a mason by trade and also a member of the Masonic fraternity. Some of the first meetings of Con- stellation Lodge were held in a room in his tavern. In June, 1818, he sold out to Moses Gragg and Francis Alden, who renamed the house the "Norfolk Hotel." It was opened under the new management with a grand dinner on July 4, 1818. In the latter '40s the place lost much of its former reputation through dances, etc., that respectable people declined to attend, and the greater part of its patronage" was diverted to the Phoenix House. In May, 1849, most of the furniture was sold at auction, and the next year a man named Stimson leased the house and started a dancing school. On June I, 1866, the building was sold to the trustees of St. Mary's School and Asylum. This institution was closed in June, 1879. After that the house was occupied by various persons and used for various purposes until June, 1905, when it was bought by Charles H. Gifford. A few years later Mr. Gifford sold the property to Walter Austin, the present owner.

Fire Department

During the first three years of Dedham's existence as a town, no attention was paid to precautionary measures against fire. But at a town meeting in 1639 the following action was taken : "For the prevention of damage that might arise by fire vpon any house in our Towne it is Ordered that every Housholder in our Towne shall forth with pvide & mayntaine one good stronge & Sufficient Lader that may be sufficient in all respects for the speedie & safe attayneing to ye toppe of ye Chimney of his house vpon occasiones which sayd Laders shall be kept in possesion at against or neere the house or Chimney wher fire is vsually made & for the greater care heere in as in a case of so greate Concernm1 it is further ordered that who so ever being an housholder in our Towne shall fayle in any the pticulers aforesaide for the space of fourteene dayes together shall forfiet vnto ye Towne & the vse there of ye sum of Five Shillings," etc.

Coming down to more modern times, Engine No. 1, called the "Hero," was presented to the town in January, 1801, and was named by a company of volunteers composed of Eliphalet Baker, Jr., Jesse Clapp, Elisha Crehore, David Dana, Paul Fisher, Amasa Guild, Reuben Guild, Reuben Newell, James Noyes, Eli Parsons, Reuben Richards and Calvin Whiting. It was located at what was known as the "Upper Village."

Engine Company No. 2 was organized about this time, and in April 1802, was presented with the engine "Good Intent," which was purchased by the inhabitants of the town by subscription. It was stationed in the "Centre Village." The first Good Intent company was made up of the following : Abner Atherton, John Billiard, Jr., William Bullard, Francis Child, Josiah Daniels, Abner Ellis, Stephen Farrington, George Gay, John Guild, Nathaniel Guild, William Howe, Herman Mann, Sr., Thaddeus Mason, Martin Marsh, James Richardson, Edward Russell, Jesse Stowell and Seth Sumner.

In 1826 the "Enterprise" was purchased by subscription and located in the Upper Mill Village, but the members of the company that first handled it can not be learned. The three engines mentioned constituted the town's fire department until at a special meeting held in December, 1831 the sum of $1,500 was voted "for the purchase of fire engines and apparatus for extinguishing fires." The appropriation was to be divided among the several school districts, in proportion to the taxes paid by each, though any two adjoining districts were given permission to unite their proportion of the funds. The appropriation of this sum had the effect of multiplying the number of fire companies and engines in the town from three to eleven. Six of the engines were located in the First Parish, two in the Second and three in the Third.

On May 4, 1846, the town voted to raise the sum of $2,500 for the erection of engine houses "and for placing the Fire Department in a more efficient state for service." David A. Baker, George Ellis and Samuel C. Mann, of the first parish, Joseph Day, of the second, and Merrill D. Ellis, of the third, were appointed a committee to carry the order into effect. Under the supervision of this committee Dedham's first engine houses were erected.

Since 1846 the department has been developed little by little to keep pace with the growth of the town. This work of development has been made easier in some respects by the organization of new towns that took away some of Dedham's territory, so that the department now does not have to cover so wide a field. The first steam fire engine was installed in 1873, ar>d at tne same time tne town expended $2,500 in the purchase of new hose. A new engine house was also built in that year. According to the report of the board of fire engineers - Henry J. Harrigan, John E. Shaughnessy and W. E. Patenaude - for the year 1916, there were then in service one engine company, two hook and ladder companies and four hose companies, and the cost of maintaining the department for the year was $19,274.42.

Dedham Water Company

A few years after the close of the Civil War in 1865, the citizens of Dedham became interested in the subject of some system of waterworks for the town, as a means of extinguishing fires and obtaining a supply of water for domestic purposes. Nothing was accomplished, however, until April 11, 1876, when the Legislature passed an act incorporating the Dedham Water Company. The incorporators named in the act were : Edward S. Rand, Jr., Waldo Colburn, Winslow Warren, E. Worthington, Royal O. Storrs, William Bullard, Ira Cleveland, Edward Stimson, Thomas Sherwin, J. P. Maynard, Thomas L. Wakefield, L. H. Kingsbury, F. D. Ely, John R. Bullard and Charles C. Loring. The act authorized the above named stockholders, "their associates and successors," to take water from the "Charles River, Buckmaster Pond, or any other natural pond or ponds, spring or springs, brook or brooks within the Town of Dedham."

It was also provided in the act of incorporation that the capital stock should not exceed $200,000, of which the town was given authority to hold one-fourth. No further action was taken for about five years and little interest was manifested in the project until after the dry seasons of 1879 and 1880, when the water in many of the wells failed, and this stimulated the company to do something toward the establishment of a system of waterworks. A meeting of the incorporators was held early in the fall of 1880, the capital stock was fixed at $75,000, and the following officers were elected: Royal O. Storrs, president; Winslow Warren, secretary; Erastus Worthington, treasurer. Percy M. Blake was then employed as civil engineer to examine the field and report upon the best plan for obtaining a supply of water and the cost of constructing works. He made his report on December 28, 1880, recommending the Charles River as the most available source, with a large "filter well" on the southerly side of the river near Bridge Street, from which water could be pumped to a standpipe on Walnut Street, and from the standpipe distributed to the different parts of the town. He estimated that a plant of this character could be built for less than the amount of the capital stock, which in the meantime had all been subscribed.

The plan recommended by Mr. Blake was adopted and work was commenced as soon as practicable in 1881. Kendall & Roberts were awarded the contract for the construction of the standpipe ; Goodhue & Birnie, for laying the mains through the streets ; and the Knowles Pump Company, for the pumping station and machinery. The diameter of the standpipe was increased from fifteen to twenty feet, and some other changes were made in the original plans, which brought the total cost of the works up to about ninety-two thousand dollars. The first public test was made early in December, 1881, and a few days later the water was turned into the mains for general use.

On January 1, 1917, the company had about forty-one miles of mains and was supplying water to more than two thousand customers. The daily consumption of water is over one million gallons. Some years ago the old filter well was abandoned and the water is now taken from driven wells. The result of this change has been a great improvement in the quality of the water, which has been approved by the Massachusetts State Board of Health.

Memorial Hall

At a town meeting held on March 6, 1865, the question of erecting a monument to the soldiers from Dedham who served in the Union army during the War of the Rebellion came up for discussion and was referred to the following committee : Ira Cleveland, E. Burgess, Comfort Weatherbee, Eliphalet Stone, Ebenezer F. Gay and J. N. Stevens. At an adjourned meeting on April 6, 1865, the committee reported in favor of the erection of a granite monument, "decorated with military emblems and provided with proper tablets for the inscription of the names, ages and date of the death of all who have died, with the names of the battlefields on which they have fallen, or the hospitals or prisons where they have died." Franklin Square was recommended as the location for the monument, which the committee estimated could be erected at an expense of from four to six thousand dollars.

As the war had not yet come to a close, no action was taken upon the report of the committee, the meeting deciding to wait until peace was restored. On May 7, 1866. at an adjourned town meeting, it was voted to build a "Memorial Hall," with walls of granite on the lot bounded by Church, High and Centre (now Washington) streets, in Dedham Village, "to provide a suitable place for the transaction of the town's business and a memorial to the soldiers of Dedham who died in the service of the United States during the War of the Rebellion."

A building committee of five was chosen, viz. : Waldo Colburn, Augustus B. Endicott, William Ames, Addison Boyden and Merrill D. Ellis. The town treasurer was authorized to borrow, with the consent of the selectmen, a sum not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars for the erection of the building. Ware & Van Brunt of Boston were employed as architects. Prior to this time the lot had been purchased with a fund raised by subscription and placed in the hands of

James Foord as trustee. The building is 64 by 104 feet, two stories high, with the town offices on the first floor and a large hall on the second. There is also an attic story, which has been used for several years by the Masonic lodge. In the main corridor on the first floor are the marble memorial tablets bearing the names of the Dedham soldiers who lost their lives in defense of the Union. On March 2, 1868, the town treasurer was authorized to borrow $12,000 more to complete the building, which was dedicated on September 29, 1868, Bates' and Gilmore's bands furnishing the music and Erastus Worthington delivering the dedicatory address. On the front wall, facing Washington Street, upon a panel of Quincy granite, is the following inscription :

The Town Seal

No common seal for the Town of Dedham was adopted until the town meeting of April, 1878, at which it was voted to adopt a seal, with the following device, to wit : "In the centre of the foreground a shield, upon which is inscribed the representation of an ancient oak ; on the right of the background the representation of a factory building; on the left the implements of agriculture; above, the sword and scales of justice; and beneath, in a scroll the motto, 'Contentment;' in the upper semicircle of the border, 'The Town of Dedham,' and in the lower semicircle, 'Plantation begun 1635, Incorporated 1636.' "

It was also ordered that when the seal was executed it should remain in the custody of the town clerk. The design originated with a member of the Dedham Historical Society and was approved by that society before it was presented to the town for adoption. The oak was intended to represent the "Avery Oak," a further account of which is given in the chapter on "Historic Landmarks." The factory and agricultural implements portray the occupations of the inhabitants. The sword and scales signify that Dedham is the shire town of the county, and the motto - Contentment - serves as a reminder that it was the name selected by the first inhabitants of the settlement.

For a number of years after Dedham was settled, letters were carried by private individuals or received and delivered at the Boston postoffice, which was established by order of the General Court on November 5, 1639, with Richard

Fairbanks as postmaster. From that time until 1693 the postal service of Dedham was altogether under Massachusetts authority.- On May 1, 1693, Andrew and John Hamilton received a royal patent to establish mail communications between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and New York. Subsequently the route was extended to Williamsburg, Virginia. The first mailrider carried the mail from Portsmouth to Boston. There the second took it and passed through Roxbury, Dedham, Rehoboth, Bristol and Newport to Saybrook, where he met the rider from New York. The Hamiltons continued to operate the route until 1707, when their patent was annulled and the crown controlled the mail service until December, 1775. After the Government of the United States was established, the mail route came under its jurisdiction. The first mention of a mail coach passing through Dedham was in 1785. The line of coaches between Boston and the West was organized by Eben Hazard, who lived at Jamaica Plain, and continued in operation until 1835. The railroad was opened to Dedham in 1836 and the old mail coach line went out of business.

The first postoffice was established at Dedham in 1793, with Jeremiah Shuttleworth as postmaster. Mann's Annals of Dedham states that on April 1, 1801, "letters are advertised as remaining in the postoffice in this town for people in the towns of Dedham, Medway, Bellingham, Medfield, Dover, Foxborough, Wa.1- pole, Hopkinton, Sharon, Canton, Franklin, Kittery, Stoughton, Sherburne and Cohasset."

From this it can be seen that Dedham was the postal center for a large district. It would be interesting to know who some of the early postmasters were - or the early persons in charge of the station under the Hamilton regime - but many of the postoffice department records were destroyed by the burning of the national capitol and other public buildings in Washington by the British in the War of 1812, and it may be that the lack of information is due in a measure to this fact.

In 1917 the Dedham Postoffice reported annual receipts of over seventeen thousand dollars. The office then employed thirteen people, including the branch at East Dedham. Edmond H. Bowler was then postmaster and the East Dedham branch was under the management of Fred A. Campbell.

The Dedham Of The Present

Erastus Worthington, writing of the town in 1884, said: "The local business of Dedham, except in the woolen mills, has substantially passed away. The sessions of the courts and the transaction of other public business at the shire town of the county, still bring people to Dedham, but these come by one railway train only to leave by the next departing train. The hotels, once the centers of social life and gayety, have disappeared. Dedham village is mainly a place of residence for those whose business is in Boston. These constitute the main body of its most valued citizens, and upon them and upon the interest which they may take in its local affairs, must chiefly depend its future character and prosperity."

Since that was written but little change has come to the town. In 1910 the population was 9,284, and in 191 5, according to the state census, it was 11,043, a gain of 1,759 in five y^ars- The assessed valuation of the property in 1916 was $16,722,310. Its schools, churches, public library, business interests, etc., are treated in other chapters of this work. Its principal attractions are its well-kept streets, beautiful shade trees and cozy homes.