Randall--Hale Homestead

Who was the first settler in Stow after Philip's War is unknown. In 1681 we find a list of the twelve allotments of land. Lot number one was set apart for the first minister. The other eleven lots were probably taken up in 1678 or 1679, and were assigned to Boaz Brown, Gershom Heale, JolinButtrick, Ephraim Heldreth, Thomas Stevens, Stephen Hall, Samuel Buttrick, Joseph Ereeman, Joseph Daby, Thomas Gates, and Sydrack Hapgood. Subseciuently, and before the middle of March, 16S6, house-lots were granted to twentythree other persons. The inhabitants having so increased in mimbers as to be able to look after their own affairs, the prudential committee, on the 11th of October, 1681, ajjpointed Thomas Stevens, Boaz Brown, Thomas Gates, and Stephen Hall, to take charge of the plantation ; and they were invested with the powers of selectmen "for the carrying on of such affaires as shall relate to the good settlement of the place," subject, however, to instructions from the committee. This committee. April 24, 1682, appointed John Hay ward, of Boston, plantation clerk. In the early part of 1683 the inhabitants became anxicms to take their place among the towns of the colony, and made known their wishes to the prudential committee, who on the 9th of April chose Tliomas Stevens, of the plantation, as clerk, and directed the iidiabitants to meet, and choose five selectmen " to order and manage their Towne affaires, and a Constable for y" year Ensueing." The meeting was held on the 19th of April, 1683, and Sergeant Benjamin Bozworth, Thomas Stevens, Stephen Hall, Boaz Brown, and Joseph Ereeman were chosen selectmen, and Thomas Gates constable. Early in the following May the citizens met, and prepared a petition to the General Court, asking to be made a town with " some suttable comly English name," and to be freed " from Country publick Charges & Hates a while Longer," on account of the great expense they would be at in supporting a minister, making bridges, and "other unavoidable heavye secular matters, y' will sorely pinch a poore people in soe yong a plantation, where they can not yet Raise competent ordinary food & Rayment." On the 16th of May, 1683, the General Court granted their prayer, and ordered them to be a town by the name of Stow, and freed them "from ye Country Rates for three yea res."

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

In 1730 the town ojiposed the taking of a portion of its territory to form the town of Harvard, giving to the General Court these reasons : Tiiat the great part of the land was unimprovable ; that it would take away one seventh of the ])opulation; that they were so poor as -to be hardly able to Mippdi-t their minister, and could not bear the country charges without the others. But their [)lca was unavailing. The incorjxiration ot Harvard in 17:32 left a'little strip of land west of the Nashua River belonging to the old town, w liicli for many years was called Stow Leg; but in 1761 it was annexed to and forms a part of Shirley. Between 1773 and 1780 the town four times opposed the incorporation of a part of her territory into the district of Boxborough. No particular opposition was made to the taking of a small slice in 1806 to hel[) form the town of Hudson, or to the larger |)ortiou taken in 1H71 to form the town of Maynanl.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Stow Town - 9,652 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.