Norfolk County, Massachusetts - Chapter 52: Miscellaneous History, 1918

Chapter 52: Miscellaneous History

When the County of Norfolk was established in 1793 it embraced in addition to its present territory, the towns of Dorchester, Roxbury, West Roxbury and Hyde Park. One by one these towns have been annexed to the City of Boston and are treated in this chapter as the "Lost Towns" of Norfolk.

The Town of Dorchester was incorporated on September 7, 1630. On that date it was ordered by the General Court that "Trimountain shalbe called Boston, Mattapan Dorchester & the Towne upon Charles Ryver Waterton." From this it appears that the district included in Dorchester was before that time known as Mattapan. Nothing was said in the order about the boundaries of the towns named. In 1636 a grant of land was made to Dorchester, which "extended in a southwesterly direction to a line drawn from the summit of the Great Blue Hill to the old corner of Dedham and Roxbury." On the southeast the bounds of Dorchester were fixed the same year "by a line running from the sea from the mouth of Sachem's Brook, southerly of Squantum, to the summit of the Great Blue Hill." Out of this territory, south of the Neponset River, the Town of Milton was incorporated in 1662.

In 1637 another large tract of land, called the "New Grant," was allotted to Dorchester. The western boundary of this grant was a straight line, running from a point near the Hyde Park railroad station to the "Angle Tree" on the southern boundary of the county a short distance east of the Rhode Island line. This line took in the eastern part of the present towns of Dedham, Norwood, Walpole and Wrentham, and the New Grant included also the present towns of Canton, Sharon, Foxboro, Stoughton and Avon. In 1738, after several previous acts had been passed relating to the subject, the Dedham bounds were extended to the Neponset River. In the meantime Stoughton had been set off from Dorchester by the act of December 22, 1726, extending northward to the line of the old grant of 1636. Dorchester was annexed to Boston at different periods, the last of the town being taken from Norfolk County on January 3, 1870.

Roxbury

Concerning the early settlers of Roxbury, Francis S. Drake says : "They were people of substance, many of them farmers, none being 'of the poorer sort.' They struck root in the soil immediately and were enterprising, industrious and frugal."

The principal founder of the town was William Pynchon, who was one of the assistant magistrates that came over with Winthrop. The town was incorporated on September 28, 1630, only three weeks after the incorporation of Dorchester. Originally the name was spelled "Rocksbury," and Barber, in his Historical Collections, says : "A great part of this town is rocky land ; hence the name of Rocks'bury." Joseph Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill, was born in Roxbury in 1740. Four days before his death he received a commission as major-general in the Continental army. William Heath, another majorgeneral, was also a native of Roxbury. After the organization of Norfolk County he was appointed probate judge, which office he held until his death in 1814. By an act of the Legislature, approved on January 5, 1868, Roxbury was annexed to and became a part of the City of Boston.

West Roxbury

The territory comprising West Roxbury was originally known as "Jamaica End and Spring Street." In 1712 it became the Second Parish of Roxbury. During the next century several efforts were made to have the parish set off as a separate town, but all resulted in failure. In 1769 Jamaica Plain was organized as the Third Parish. In June, 1777, the Second and Third parishes joined in a petition to the General Court asking to be set off as a district to be called "Washington," but the Court took no action upon the petition. Finally, through the exertions of Arthur W. Austin and other influential citizens, who employed Rufus Choate to present their claims to the General Court, an act was passed on May 24, 185 1, incorporating the Town of West Roxbury. The event was celebrated on the evening of June 3, 185 1, by the firing of cannon, a display of fireworks, etc.

West Roxbury was the second town to be incorporated in Norfolk County after the latter was organized in 1793, Canton having been established in 1797, four years after the erection of the county. The town remained a part of Norfolk County until January 5, 1874, when the Legislature passed an act annexing it to the City of Boston.

Hyde Park

The incorporation of Hyde Park as a separate town is due in a great measure to the Hyde Park Land Company, which was organized about 1850. During the next ten years a number of lots were sold in that part of the town known as Fairmount. After the war the new settlement experienced a "boom," no fewer than 106 dwelling houses being erected in the year 1867. On October 14, 1867, a meeting was held at Music Hall, at which the preliminary steps were taken to secure the incorporation of a new town. A committee was appointed to consider the matter and report to an adjourned meeting on the 23d. At the adjourned meeting this committee reported in favor of presenting a petition to the General Court asking for the establishment of a separate town, with the bounds practically as they were afterward fixed.

As part of the proposed town was to be taken from Dedham, that town opposed the project. Dorchester made no opposition, but Milton objected to the taking of Brush Hill for the new town. The outcome of all this heated controversy was that the act of incorporation was approved on April 22, 1868, taking 1,300 acres from Dorchester, 800 acres from Dedham, and 700 acres from Milton, leaving the residents along the old Brush Hill road still within the boundaries of Milton. The first town meeting was held on April 30, 1868, when Henry Grew, Zenas Allen, M. L. Whitcher, W. J. Stuart and B. F. Radford were chosen selectmen ; C. W. Turner, clerk; Henry S. Adams, treasurer; Henry A. Rich, tax collector. Hyde Park remained a part of Norfolk County until annexed to Boston under the act of June 22, 191 1, which was to become effective when accepted by the town and city. Both accepted the provisions of the act on November 7, 191 1, at the general election.

Quaker Persecutions

While the first settlers of Massachusetts left their native land because of religious differences and persecutions and sought a place where they could worship God as they pleased, they were of that stern mold that was not willing to accord the same privilege to others. It may not be generally known that instances of Quaker persecution occurred in what is now Norfolk County, yet such was the case. A book entitled "New England Judged, by the Spirit of the Lord," was published by George Bishop in London in 1661, giving an account of the sufferings of the Quakers in their attempts to worship according to their views in Massachusetts. The book is divided into two parts, the first part "Containing a Brief Relation of the Sufferings of the People call'd Quakers in New-England from the Time of their first Arriv'l there in the Year 1656 to the Year 1660." The second part is a "Farther Relation of the Cruel and Bloody Sufferings of the People call'd Quakers in New-England Continued from anno 1660 to anno 1665." The following extracts are taken from an edition of this book published in London in 1703.

In March, 1658, three of the inhabitants of Salem - John Small, John Burton and Josiah Southick, Quakers, started for Rhode Island to look for a new location. The book then describes how they came to "a place called Dedham in the way Thither about thirty Miles from Salem, the first Night. As they were going into the Ordinary to Lodge one of the Chief Men of that place Capt. Lusher by Name, was sent for who examined them about Religion with your ministers on purpose to ensnare them: which they perceiving and refusing to answer unto his Questions tho' they gave him an Account of their Journey : he told them that he would send them where they would Answer: and so the next Morning the Constable came with Aid and with a Halbert and Brazen Headed staff, conveyed them like Murtherers through the Street to Boston, where your Deputy Governour reviled them telling them that they should go to Prison : And to Prison they had gone had they not demanded to go before the Governour, who hearing the case

Although set free, a fine of twelve shillings was levied upon them "to pay the Constable and his Men." It appears that Josiah Southick had the temerity to venture again into Boston, which resulted in the following order:

"To the Constables of Boston - You are by Vertue of an Order of the Court of Assistants held at Boston the third Instant, required to repair with the Executioner unto the Prison, and there Forthwith take the Person of Josiah Southick, a Banish'd Quaker: And the Executioner is to take him and to strip him from the Girdle upward and to tye him to a Cart-tail and whip him ten Stripes out of Boston, and deliver him to the Constable of Rocksbury who is also to Cause him to be tyed to the Cart's-tail, stripp'd as afore said, and to whip him through Rocksbury with ten Stripes, and then deliver him to the Constable of Dedham, who is also required to whip him at the Cart's-tail with ten Stripes as afore said, and so discharge him out of Our Jurisdiction. Make your several Returns on the back side of the Warrant to the Secretary forthwith. Dated at Boston the 9th of September, 1661.

The order was executed and the victim was left "fifteen Miles from any Towne and twenty-six Miles from Boston and the Wilderness." The book further says: "The Whip us'd for those cruel Executions is not of Whip-cord as in England, but of dryed Guts, such as the Base of Viols and with three knots at the end, which many times the Hang-man layes on with both his Hands and must needs be of the most violent Torture and exercise to the Body."

Elizabeth Hooton, an old woman, received ten lashes at Dedham on a cold frosty morning, after which "they put her on Horseback and carried her a weary Journey, many Miles into the Wilderness and towards Night left her there where many Wolves and Bears and Wild Beasts which used sometimes to set upon living Persons, and many deep Waters to pass through, there to purchase a House and Ground which might hold her Tabernackle or lodge her therein."

Notwithstanding this severe treatment, Mrs. Hooton returned to Boston and again she was whipped out at the cart's tail through the towns of Roxbury, Dedham and Medfield, after which she was again sent into the wilderness, "where she had above Twenty Miles to go in the exceeding Cold."

Other Quakers who were whipped, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted by the authorities were: Richard Dowdney, John Copeland, Christopher Holder, Joseph Nicholson, John Liddall, Jane Millard, Katharine Chatham, Ann Coleman and Thomas Newhouse. The last named seems to have been a preacher or missionary of some sort, as he tells his story himself. He says : "Another time in my travels I came to a Town called Medfield in New England, in Boston's Jurisdiction, and I could not get a Meeting: And it being the First Day of the Week, when the Priest had done and the People came forth into the Street where I was standing waiting upon the Lord, these words ran through me 'Oh, Earth, Earth, Earth, hear the Word of the Lord!' With some more words, but my Mouth was presently stopp's with a Man's Hand and several sore Blows I received amongst them: And after that they carried me back again to the Stocks, but they standing by the Worship House, they would not let me sit in them there, but took them upon their Shoulders and carried them under a Hedge and put me in them two Hours, where I had good Service for the Lord, and the next day I was whipp'd at Dedham at the Cart's-tail with Ten Stripes, and the Following day at Medfield with ten Stripes more, and sent away into the Woods."

A Few Landmarks

In every community there are certain objects that have a historic value, in that they connect the present with the past. Generally speaking, the older the settlement the greater the number of these landmarks, each of which tells a" story that it would be difficult to repeat in words. Below is given a description of a few of Norfolk County's landmarks of this character.

The Fairbanks House - A short distance east of the railroad station in Dedham stands an old house, which for its picturesqueness and antique furniture is an object of interest to visitors. The land upon which it stands was allotted to Jonathan Fairbanks in 1637, and there is a tradition that the house was built about that time. It was probably not built until twenty-five or thirty years after that date, but is doubtless the oldest house in Norfolk County today. The small wing on the side next to East Street was added about 1777. Other additions have been made from time to time, but the main portion of the structure remains just as it was built by Jonathan Fairbanks. The house contains many relics of the family who have lived there for eight generations. It has never been deeded. It was built by a Fairbanks and his descendants have always owned and occupied it.

The Peake House - The visitor who makes the trip from Dedham to Medfield on the electric line will notice on the right of the road, just before coming to the main village of Medfield, an old house much weather-beaten, with an unusually steep roof. It was built by one of the pioneers of Medfield and is thus described by Barber in his Historical Collections of Massachusetts : "This house was standing at the time when the principal part of the town was burnt by the Indians in 1676. It is probably the only house of the kind now standing in this country. It is an interesting relic of antiquity, showing the manner in which most of the houses of the first settlers were built. This house is 24 feet in length, 14^2 feet in breadth, 10 feet from the ground to the eaves of the roof, about 12 feet from the eaves to the top of the roof. There are three divisions on the ground floor, consisting of one principal room, and entry and a pantry ; on the second floor are two chambers, above which is a narrow garret. It was formerly used as a weaver's shop."

Adams Houses, at Quincy - Near the foot of Penn's Hill, in Quincy, are two houses, very much alike in appearance, the birthplaces of two presidents of the United States. The one on the right in the picture is the house in which John Adams was born on October 19, 1735, and the other is where John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767. From 1800 to 1804 the latter was occupied by Rev. Peter Whitney, pastor of the First Parish Church, while Mr. Adams was abroad as minister to Berlin or in Washington as United States senator. The two houses are well preserved, considering their great age, and are objects of interest to the student of history.

Avery Oak - Among the early settlers of Dedham was Dr. William Avery, who built his house on what is now East Street, near a large white oak tree, which has become known in the annals of the town and county as the "Avery Oak." It is this tree that is represented upon the town seal of Dedham. In an address before the Dedham Historical Society on October 3, 1897, Erastus Worthington said : "That the Avery oak is much older than the settlement of the town can hardly be doubted. There is in the possession of the writer, a sketch of the tree made probably about 1825 by our late townsman, Alvan Fisher. On it is written this memorandum in pencil. '19^2 feet in circumference - 102 years since the top was cut off for firewood by the grandfather of Deacon Avery.' "

Mann's Annals of Dedham (p. 125) says that seventy dollars were offered by the builders of the United States frigate Constitution, but the offer was rejected by the owner. By a deed of conveyance dated June 29, 1886, the oak was given by Joseph W. Clark to the Dedham Historical Society, on the condition that it should be carefully preserved in the years to follow. The Avery house was torn down the year before this deed was executed.

Indian Rock - A short distance south of the A;illage of Franklin, on the road to Wrentham, a giant rock rears its head above the surrounding tree-tops. It is known as "Indian Rock," now a historic spot in Franklin. At the base of this rock occurred the fight between Capt. Robert Ware's company and a party of Indians at the time of King Philip's war. An account of the action is given in the chapter on Indian History. Traditions of this battle are still cherished by old inhabitants of Franklin, and the rock is pointed out as one of the historic landmarks of the county.

Dedham Powder House - On March 1, 1762, "It was put to the Town to see if the Town will build a Powder House. Voted in the affirmative and then the Town voted to refer the further consideration of said Powder House to next May meeting." Such is the entry in the records of a town meeting on the date noted. At .the May meeting it was voted "to have the Powder House builded on a great Rock in Aaron Fuller's land Near Charles River." The work of building it was referred to a committee, but that committee failed to perform its assigned duty. In May, 1765, the matter was again taken up, and it was decided to erect a building "Eight Feet Square on the outside and Six Feet high under the Plates, the Materials to be Brick and Lime Mortar." The house was completed in the latter part of 1766 or early in 1767. At the time of the celebration of Dedham's 250th anniversary in 1886, the building was repaired and in the eastern wall was inserted a tablet of bronze bearing the inscription : "The Powder House, Built by the Town, 1766."

Other objects that might properly be classed as landmarks are: The Angle Tree Monument, on the southern border of Plainville ; the Paul Revere House, in Canton ; the Dorothy Quincy House and the old Adams Mansion, in Quincy ; the Medway Elm, a large tree of that variety bearing an inscription relating to early days in the town ; "House Rock," in East Weymouth, the largest bowlder in New England ; the old stone pound, in Westwood ; and various old buildings, public and private, in several of the towns.

Distinguished Visitors

Xo attempt is intended to describe the visits of all the distinguished persons who have been in Norfolk County since its establishment in 1793, but there are a few who stand out in bold relief and deserve more than passing mention. First in order is General Lafayette, who passed the night of August 23, 1824, in the county. The following account of his visit is taken from Mann's Annals of Dedham :

"General Lafayette arrived here at half past ten o'clock in the evening, and stopped at Alden's Hotel. The loud and repeated cheerings from the assembled citizens, who had continued to collect through the day in expectation of his arrival, the salute of the artillery, the ringing of bells, and the brilliant illumination of the houses in the village, gave some faint evidence of the satisfaction experienced by all on the arrival among us of this distinguished Revolutionary Chief - this friend of America in her time of need, and of Liberty throughout the world. He tarried here but one hour, during which time hundreds of ladies and gentlemen had the gratification of shaking hands with the General ; and had he tarried until morning, the time would have been too short to gratify all who aspired to that honor. General Lafayette is a remarkably tall, majestic looking man, about sixtyeight years of age, and was dressed in plain citizens' dress. He was accompanied by his son and one or two other French gentlemen of his household. At half past eleven he entered his carriage and was again greeted with the three times three cheers of the citizens, and escorted by a cavalcade of about one hundred horsemen to the seat of Governor Eustis in Roxbury, where he spent the night." (Roxbury was at that time a part of Norfolk County.)

The following day many of the people of Norfolk County went to Boston to witness the reception of Lafayette as the "Nation's Guest" in that city. From the residence of Governor Eustis he was escorted to the city line by some two thousand horsemen. There he was received by the mayor and other city officials and escorted through the streets by the military companies of Boston and the adjacent towns. At the state house he was formally received by the state authorities, after which a public dinner was served at the Exchange. Many men were then living who remembered Lafayette's former visit to America, when he periled his life and fortune to aid the colonists in their struggle for independence. He remained in this country until the following summer, and on June 17, 1825, assisted at the laying of the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill monument.

On Friday, June 21, 1833, President Andrew Jackson, accompanied by Vice President Martin Van Buren ; Gen. Lewis Cass, secretary of war ; Governor Woodbury, secretary of the navy ; Governor Marcy, of New York, and other prominent gentlemen, passed through Norfolk County on their way from Providence to Boston. The party arrived at Dedham about noon and was received by a committee, of which James Richardson was chairman. Mr. Richardson welcomed the President with a brief address, and which was responded to by General Tackson. The further account of the President's visit is taken from the Dedham Patriot of June 27, 1833, which says:

"The President was then conducted on foot by the committee through the throng of spectators, who were ranged in two lines nearly the whole length of Court Street, bowing gracefully to the people on either side as he passed, to the open space in front of the meeting house, where the First Regiment commanded by Colonel Eaton was paraded. After receiving the salute of the military and reviewing them, he, together with his suite, were conducted to the Norfolk Hotel, where they dined. At one o'clock he took his seat in an open barouche, together with the Vice President and the two aids of Governor Lincoln, and departed on his journey to Boston amid the cheers of the assembled multitude."

Abraham Lincoln, then a member of Congress from Illinois, came to Massachusetts in 1848 to make some speeches in the interest of Taylor and Fillmore, the whig candidates for President and Vice President. On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 20, 1848, he spoke in Temperance Hall (the old court-house) at Dedham, following the convention which renominated Horace Mann for Congress. He was escorted from Boston by a number of citizens of that city, among whom was George H. Monroe, a well known newspaper man of that day, who afterward wrote the following account of the speech :

"When the party arrived at the little hall, late in the afternoon, it was found to be but half full, and with an apparently stupid and morose speaker it was thought the jug was up. But the moment Mr. Lincoln began to speak there was a change. He was no longer indifferent, but started off with fine effect. Pretty soon he turned up the sleeves of his black alpaca sack coat, then he turned up the cuffs of his shirt, and by and by he loosened his necktie, and wound up by taking it off altogether, the enthusiasm of his rural listeners rising steadily as the transformation progressed. The speaker bubbled over with humor, told funny stories of western life to illustrate points in his argument, and talked to his auditors in the most familiar and off-hand way imaginable. Suddenly, after he had been talking half an hour, a locomotive bell on a train about to start for Boston was heard. Lincoln stopped and said he had to speak in Cambridge in the evening and must run for the train. Cries of 'No! No! Don't stop!' etc., came from all over the hall, and one man promised to hitch up his nag and take the speaker to Cambridge later, but Lincoln said T have kept my word with you and I must do the same by the Cambridge people ; I can't afford to take any chances,' and he went, attended by every evidence of genuine regret on the part of the Dedhamites."

That was ten years before Mr. Lincoln's debates with Stephen A. Douglas brought him into national prominence, and twelve years before he was elected President. He was practically unknown in the East in 1848, and it may be interesting to the reader to know how he was regarded by the opposition. His meeting at Temperance Hall is thus described by the Norfolk Democrat: "From twelve to twenty of our citizens went to the depot to meet the delegations from Roxbury and Dorchester Taylor clubs and the Hon. Western member of Congress. A procession was formed of about 100 and marched through the streets accompanied by the Dorchester Band of musicians. When opposite the Phoenix House nineteen individuals mustered courage enough to tell the procession that they could hurrah three times. We believe the procession was not interrupted by cheers again till they arrived at the hall.

"Mr. Lincoln was received with a good deal of applause by about a fifth of the audience, who appeared to do all the applause. The speaker was limited as to time and did not recite all his speech. . . . We did not hear him through, but presume he gave great satisfaction to the Taylorites present. He was escorted to the depot by the Dedham Whig Club and a band of music, and after he had left 51 men and boys marched back again to the hall."

The Roxbury Gazette, another opposition paper, gives this account : "The Hon. Abraham Lincoln of Illinois came out in the cars at half past three P. M. with fifty-one persons, who, we presume from the posters, were drummed up for a demonstration. The procession, escorted by the Dedham Taylor Club, composed of from twelve to fifteen persons, was indeed a melancholy display. But it will appear brilliantly enough in the Atlas. (The Boston Atlas was a whig paper.) That is past hurt. We have no doubt that both conventions were satisfactory to the parties interested. We only regret that they cannot be repeated in every town in this county and district previous to the election."

To the credit of these newspapers, who thus "poked fun" at Mr. Lincoln in 1848, it can be said that thirteen years later, when the nation was in the throes of Civil war, they gave his administration loyal support in behalf of the Union.

Benevolent Institutions

Few counties in the country are better provided with benevolent and charitable institutions than Norfolk. There are three state institutions of this nature located within the limits of the county, viz : The Medfield Asylum for the Insane, which was opened for the reception of patients by the governor's proclamation on May 1, 1896, and the Insane Asylum at Foxboro. The state also has a hospital school at Canton.

Almost every town has its farm or home for the unfortunate poor. These institutions are maintained at the expense of the town, those of the inmates who are able to work being given employment about the farm or home. Thousands of dollars have been expended by the towns in the establishment and support of these homes for the poor.

In May, 1852, the "Sailors' Snug Harbor," a home for invalid or disabled seamen, was established in Quincy, and the National Sailors' Home was opened in the same town on March 14, 1865, for the benefit of sailors and marines who fought on the side of the Union in the Civil war.

About 1863 an institution known as the "Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female Prisoners" was established at Dedham, through the efforts of Miss Hannah B. Chickering. The object of the home is to care for women after their discharge from any reformatory institution, and for girls and women placed on probation by the courts. While in the institution they are taught sewing, laundry work, house work, etc., and every effort made to elevate their moral tone.

In the way of general hospitals, all the populous towns are well supplied. Brookline has six such institutions, to wit: The Board of Health Hospital, the Corey Hill, the Summit, the Infants', the Free Hospital for Women, and the House of the Good Samaritan. Simpson Hospital is conducted in connection with Wellesley College, and at Norwood the Civic Association Hospital is one of the best equipped in the eastern part of Massachusetts. The Quincy City Hospital was established some years ago and in the spring of 191 7, after war with Germany was declared, steps were taken to equip 100 beds in this institution for use as an emergency military hospital. The Nurses' Association of Dedham has accumulated a fund of some twenty thousand dollars for the establishment of a general hospital in that town. The Milton Hospital and Convalescent Home offers the pure, wholesome atmosphere of the Blue Hill region to persons recovering from illness, accompanied by medical treatment at the hands of skilled physicians and surgeons, and the Glover Home and Hospital of Needham is conducted along modern lines.