Athol Town (part 2 of 2)

For the year 1868 F. F. Fay, Esq., of Athol, was president, and seven well-known gentlemen of this town and vicinity, vice-presidents. The society received from the State, as its share of the State bounty, about $218, and paid out for premiums $219. The chief event of that year affecting the society was the purchase of land for fair grounds. A lot was bought of Mr. Benjamin Estabrook for $1500, and another lot adjoining of Mr. S. D. Prouty for $1300. There was cash in the treasury to pay $300 on these purchases, and notes were given for $2500, with interest at five percent. Within the grounds there is a beauti- j ful grove, while a lake borders the same upon one of j its sides. During 1869 an exhibition hall was erected, [ one hundred by fifty feet, two stories high. In the second story is a hall for addresses, .society dinners, etc., with offices for the officials of the society. A track was prepared for the exhibition of horses and a stand for judges erected. These permanent improvements upon the grounds cost $8853. During the year 1871 $1200 of the debt of the society were paid, the sum total of the receipts for the year having been $4846. Of this amount $600 were received from the Commonwealth. The number of members was also largely increased. From year to year it has been customary to enlarge the range and amount of premiums offered and to diminish as rapidly as possible the debt of the society. In 1875 this amounted to $9722. In 1880 this debt bad been reduced to $7125, and in 1887 it appears from the reports to have amounted to only $1400. I'^rom the beginning, the whole enterprise has been eminently successful.

Physicians axd Surgeons.' - Dr. Joseph Lord, first physician, exhorter and clerk of proprietors, died in Vermont; Dr. Ellinwood, home at the Ellinwood place, on The Street ; Dr. Royal Humphrey, son of first pastor, on The Street; Dr. Ebenezer Chaplin, on the Common ; Dr. Rice, removed, lived in the house of Theo. Jones ; Dr. Holmes, removed to Leicester, dead ; Dr. Morton, lived on Sawyer place. Orange Road ; Dr. William H. Williams, Brick House, Centre, dead ; Dr. George Hoyt, water cure founder, dead ; Dr. George Field, water cure, dead ; Dr. J. H. Hero, removed to Westborougli, water cure; Dr. Hutchinson, contemporary with Dr. Hoyt, dead ; Dr. George D. Colony, in Depot Village, removed to Fitchburg; Dr. Austin, in Centre, accidentally killed in 1856; Dr. A.G. Williams, in Depot Village, removed to St. Albans, Vt., dead ; Dr. James Cooledge, successor of Dr. Colony, died in Depot Village; Dr. J. B. Gould, removed to Somerville; Dr. Kendall Davis, removed to Templeton, dead; Dr. O. M. Drury, removed to Orange, dead ; Dr. H. A. Deane, removed to East Hampton, Mass. ; Dr. V. O. Taylor, removed to Providence, R. I.; Dr. Jackson, removed to Somerville, Mass. ; Dr. Kemp, removed to Danvers ; Dr. King, removed to Huntington ; Dr. Donnell; Dr. A. N. Parsons, removed to Mexico, and Dr. C. W. Parsons, I'emoved to Worthington, dead, brothers; Dr. Chamberlain, lived on The Street, removed to New Salem ; Dr. James P. Lynde, now resident since 1856, Centre; Dr. James Oliver, resident since 1877, Centre; Dr. H. 0. Dunbar, came in 1873, Depot Village; Dr. M. L. Linsey, 1882, Depot

Homwopalhic P/ii/sicians, - Dr. Cragin, Depot Village, removed ; Dr. Broons, removed to East Boston ; Dr. Thayer, removed; Dr. Ctolburn, removed; Dr. C. H. Forbes, resident between the villages. Drs. A. G. Williams and James Oliver were surgeons in the army during the Rebellion. Dr. G. D. Colony is widely known as a consulting physician in Fitchburg and vicinity, and so is Dr. Lynde in the northwestern part of Worcester County. Dr. Lynde is treasurer of the Board of Control of the State Agncullural Experiment Station. Drs. Colony, Lynde and Oliver have been efficient members of the Athol School Committee, the former two for a series of successive years.

In the list given above, there are the names of some others who, from time to time, took an active part in the business, educational ami religious interests of the town.

Lawyers. - No public record has been preserved respecting the earliest lawyers in Athol. In 1850, and for about fifteen years afterwards, till the time of his death, 7»a'(c Sfevensh&d his law-office in the Upper Village. He was a useful citizen, and very favorably known in his profession as a member of the Worcester County bar. For a short time he was the president of Miller's River National Bank, also postmaster at Athol for some years.

Among the lawyers of Athol who have died. Farwelt F. Fay may be mentioned. He was a native of New Salem, and was first known in Athol as a successful teacher in one of the common schools. Later he became master of the High School, but relinquished this position to study law in the Law Department of Harvard University. After his graduation he settled as a lawyer in Athol. In 1862 Mr. Fay recruited a company of soldiers - chiefly from Athol - for nine months' service against the Confederacy, and was chosen their captain. This was Company E of the Fifty-third Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, and served during the tedious campaign in Louisiana. For some years after his return from the war he Wiis a member of the School Committee. Later he opened a law-office in Boston, and died there in 1888.

Charles Field is one of the senior members of the Worcester County bar, and one of the vice-presidents of the Bar Association. He was born in Athol and removed in early youth to Greenfield. He studied law in the oflice of Hon. Daniel Wells, afterwards chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. After his admission to the bar he spent four years in the West and Southwest, returning thence to Massachusetts and to his native town, which he has since made the place of his residence. In 1857 he was elected to the House of Representatives, and in the two years following was a nipmber of the State Senate. In 1860 he was a Republican Presidential elector, and, with Chief Justice Chapman, John G. Whittier and others, cast the electoral vote of Massachusetts for Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin. Since then he has confined himself to the duties of his profession. On the establishment of the First District Court of Northern Worcester, in 1884, he was appointed justice of the same, and still holds that office. In 1856 he married Caroline C. Alden, and has one son, Charles Field, Jr., who follows his father's profession.

Though not in the army during the Civil War, the services of Mr. Field were eminently helpful. For a number of years he was the collector of internal revenue in the district embracing Athol.

George W. Horr, a member of the Harvard Law School Association, the senior member of the bar of Northern Worcester, is a native of New Salem. He received his academical education in his native town, in Quoboag Seminary, Warren ; in Phillips Academy, Andover ; and Williston Seminary, Easthampton, from the last of which he graduated as salutatorian in 1848. He then pursued science and law at Harvard University. Later he was in law-offices in Greenfield and New York City, and, later still, as a partner of the late Charles G. Colby, opened a literary bureau in Brooklyn, N. Y'. Returning to Massachusetts, he was admitted to the bar in 1860, and received the degree of LL.B. from Harvard. Mr. Horr filled various important positions in his native town before removing to Athol in 1863. During the Rebellion he enlisted as a soldier, but a severe injury received before the war prevented his acceptance. In Athol he has served as chairman of the School Committee and moderator of the town-meetings. A Democrat, he cast the one solitary vote for the Democratic candidate for Governor in 1865. On various occasions Mr. Horr has delivered literary and scientific addresses, and at the celebration in Athol, July 4, 1887, he was the orator.

For the ''History of Worcester County," published in 1879, Mr. Horr prepared the histories of Athol, Dana, Petersham, Phillipston and Royalston. His law practice is large, particularly in the Department of the Interior, at Washington.

Sidney P. Smith, A.B., LL.B., attorney-at-law, Athol, Mass., was born in Princeton, 111., July 13, 1850, and fitted for college at the High School in his native town, and entered Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., 1870, and graduated in 1874. He was principal of the Athol High School from 1876 to 1880. He graduated at Union College of Law, Chicago, in 1882, and the same year was admitted to the bar ia Illinois, and in 1883 to the Massachusetts bar. He has been special justice of the First District Court of Northern Worcester since 1884, and represented the First Worcester District in the Massachusetts House

Henry M. Burleigh, counselor-at-law, Athol, Mass., was born in Hartford, Conn., March 2, 18.35; was fitted for the bar under private tutors, and admitted to the bar of Sufiblk County, Mass., as an attorney and counselor-at-law July 17, 1856. He was commissioned second lieutenant in First Regiment New York Volunteers, April, 1861 ; promoted to adjutant, and afterward captain of Company D. He was also commissioned assistant adjutant-general of volunteers in April, 1862, and served on the general staff of the United States Army till the close of the war. He was wounded three times - at Antietam September 17, 1862 ; again July 4, 1864, and at Winchester in April, 1865. He was mustered out September, 1865. He settled in Kansas, and in 1866 was appointed United States commissioner, and also served two terms as prosecuting attorney of Allen County. In 1878 he settled in Athol. He married Clara Hoyt, daughter of Dr. George Hoyt, of Athol, in May, 1871, but has had no children.

E. V. Wilson, counselor-at-law. - Mr. Wilson was born at Winehendon, Mass., July 1, 1847. After fitting for college in New Hampshire, he graduated from Cornell University at Ithaca, N. Y'., in 1872. He read law with Wheeler & Falkner in Keene, N. H., and was admitted to practice in the New Hampshire Courts in 1875. In 1876 he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar at Greenfield, and established himself in his profession in Athol in May of the same year. Mr. Wilson was auditor for the town in 1887, and at the last election was chosen a member of the School Committee for the terra ending in 1890.

Charles Field, Jr., counselor-at-law. - Mr. Field was born in Cambridge, Mass., fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, and with private tutors ; entered Williams College in 1877, and graduated, B.A., in 1881. He studied law in the office of his father. Judge Charles Field, of Athol, for two years ; also read law two years in the Boston Law School, and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in June, 1886. Mr. Field is in practice in Athol.

CEJfETERlES. - So far as can be ascertained, no complete and reliable record of the deaths in Athol has been preserved. During the long pastorates of the early ministers they kept a record of the funerals which they attended, and of the deaths of some others, as was the custom in those days, but for the last fifty years little or nothing has been done to combine the old with the more recent records, and make the list complete.

The oldest cemetery was laid out in 1741 on a lot of eight acres, situated on the north bank of Mill Brook, about sixty rods southeast of the railroad station. For years before 1859 this "Old Burying-Ground " had been wholly neglected and was almost forgotten, being held as private property. In that year, through the efforts of Colonel Thomas Townsend and Messrs. George Sprague and Amos L. Cheney, the town obtained a legal title to a lot eight rods long and four rods wide (which contained nearly all the graves that could then be distinguished), fenced the same, and reconsecrated it with religious services July 4, 1859, erecting, at the same time, a suitable granite monument. The proceedings on that day were soon printed in two editions, under the title, " The Home of the Ancient Dead Restored." The lot was given to the town by Messrs. Ethan Lord and Amos L. Cheney. In 1859 about forty graves could be distinctly traced, but no marks upon the rough stones gave any indication of the names of the occupants. Five children of Ephraim Stockwell were buried there, and five graves, side by side, are seen, answering in length to the recorded ages of the children.

The second cemetery laid out was what has long been known as the Village Burying-ground, just beyond the covered bridge on the road to Orange. This appears to have been opened as early as 1746.

The fourth cemetery (sometimes called " the Main Street Burying-ground ") was opened in the south part of the Upper Village in 184,3. The remains of many of the leading men of the town repose there, and the town makes an annual appropriation to keep it in order.

In 1883 the town purchased a pleasantly-located tract of land containing nearly thirty acres for a new cemeteiy. It lies upon the north side of Miller's River, and upon the side of the road leading to Orange Furnace. It is called the "Silver Lake Cemetery," as it borders upon the beautiful lake of that name. The grounds have been laid out with good taste, and there is not in all the region a more suitable spot for the resting-place of the dead. The cemetery was dedicated May 10, 1877.

All, death ! how crnel is thy reign. Thine arrows make the parents Pain. But faith anticipates the day When thon mnst yield a Pall thy Prey !

The first pastor of Athol, Rev. James Humphrey, was laid at rest in a tomb in this old cemetery, but there was no inscription upon it in 1850. It is possible, perhaps probable, that this tomb was private property, but the hand of time and, what is infinitely worse, the handsof the lawless, have long sincemadeit a heap of ruins. In the same cemetery was another tomb, perhaps a receiving tomb, which has shared the same fate. A third tomb survives, viz. : that ef Joel Morton and family. Depredators broke into this some years since, and took such relics as they could find, but the breach was repaired and the entrance carefully sealed.

The locality and surroundings of this cemetery are not such as to encourage eftbrts in the way of improvement like the cemeteries that are now used for the interment of the dead; still it hardly comports with the respect we ought to show to the honored men and women of the past that this ancient burying-ground should be so sadly neglected.

Hotels. - Mr. Daniel Bigelow (now eighty-eight and a half years of age, and one of the oldest men in town) says he can remember when the Pequoig House was a private dwelling. From other sources it is learned that it was not opened as a hotel until 1830. From Mr. Bigelow's statements it appears that the " Factory Boarding-house " was erected in 1811, and that two or three years later it was opened as an inn, and so kept for a number of years. Captain Orcott's tavern was erected very early in the history of the town. It stood just above the centre of Athol, and was the first house on the Templeton road, very near the Fair Grounds. In the old elm-tree opposite, the staple still remains on which the ancient tavern-sign was hung. Probably the oldest tavern in Athol was on " The Street," not far from the present residence of Mr. C. K. Wood. During the Revolutionary War, as already stated, it was supposed to be the headquarters of a little company of Tories, and was carefully watched or " inspected," as the term was in those days. Captain William Crosby is said to have kept the same house as an inn. Whei'e, or nearly where the Summit House now stands, Mr. Samuel Sweetser is said to have kept a public-house during the later years of the last century, and Thomas Lord was his successor. Others owned the place and kept the tavern before it came into the possession of Mr. John Brooks, the father of Mrs. Doctor Lyude. Captain Kendall once kept a hotel where Mr. Gilbert Southard now lives. It is certainly singular that so little definite information can now be obtained respecting the old taverns of Athol, for a century ago the country tavern was a most important institution. Travelers were to be entertained in considerable numbers, horses were to be cared for, the ground in front was the place for military parade, while all, young and old, were welcome in the bar-room.

It should be added that the landlord of the Summit House at the present time is Mr. George H. Prouty, while Mr. George F. Lord has the charge of the Pequoig House, under a lease given by its owner, Mr. Adolphus Bangs. Mr. Bangs was the keeper of the Pequoig for about nineteen years previous to 1886.

Free Masons. - Upon the rolls of some of the older Masonic lodges in the county, and of the lodge in Greenfield, the names of Athol men appear. In 1803 the Harris Lodge was instituted in Athol, and in 1804 ajiew lodge, the Star Lodge, was organized. This was followed in 1866 by the Union Royal Arch Chapter, and later the Athol Commandery of Knights Templar was instituted.

Major Warren Horr, of Athol, is doubtless one of the oldest Masons in Worcester County. His certificate of membership, written in both English and Latin is a curiosity that merits preservation : " Brother

1 In conflict with this opinion ia tlie fact, as stated in the Athol TranscriiiVi Annual fur 1888, that MiB, Sally Fish hail a Jeed in which tlie Pequoig House building was described as a tavern more than one hundred years ago.

Warren Horr, Jr., to whom we have granted these letters, was admitted to the third degree of Masonry in Golden Rule Lodge", on the 25tli day of Oct. A. L. 5825. Distinguished for his virtues and fidelity to the craft, he is recommended to their favor and protection. In testimony whereof we have caused our Brother to write his name in the margin and to these presents and have affixed the Seal of our Lodge. Witness our Master and Wardens at New Salem this 23d day of January a.d., 1826.

On the sides of the certificate are the names of other officers of the lodge, and then follows an official declaration that the lodge in New Salem is in good standing, signed by the Grand Secretary. Mr. Horr is eighty-five years of age.

Robert Wiley and S. L. Wiley, co-partners under the firm-name of the " Athol Aqueduct Company," agreed, under seal, with the inhabitants of Athol to furnish them with pure water for fire and domestic purposes, and to provide fifty hydrants at fifty dollars each per year, and others, as needed, at the same rate. This agreement was signed by Robert and S. L. Wiley and the selectmen of Athol June 7, 1876, and approved by a vote of the town at a town-meeting held June 13, 1876.

The next year, by act of the Legislature, the two Wileys and two citizens of Athol, their associates and successors, were made a corporation by the name of the Athol Water Company (the Wileys being really the corporation), for the purpose of furnishing Athol with pure water, which carried out, so far as it has been carried out, the original agreement referred to above.

Fifty hydrants were furnished, and five or six more ! have been added. The act of incorporation bears date of April 10, 1877, and the constructed works were accepted by the town July 7, 1877.

The water furnished by this corporation comes from Wellington Brook, in Phillipston, Buckman Brook, in Athol, and a small brook that rises near the residence of Charles H. Barton, in Phillipston. There are three reservoirs for storing and distributing the water. The main one has an area of nineteen acres, and is partly in Phillipston and partly in Athol, with an elevation of five hundred and fifty feet above the Lower Village. This is chiefly for storage. A second reservoir, of about one acre, is a little distance east of the Calvin Kelton homestead, and this supplies the Upper Village or Athol Centre, while a third, of about the same size, situate a little north of the Upper Village Cemetery, supplies the Lower Village.'

The Athol Gas-Light Company. - In 1874 this company was organized. Its capital was fixed at forty thousand dollars. What effect the general introduction of electric lights will have upon this company's prosperity remains to be seen. This company has recently been incorporated with the Athol Electric Light and Power Company.

The spacious and beautiful Music Hall, erected in Athol Centre, opposite the Summit House, and which was destroyed by fire in 1875, has not been rebuilt.

Newspapers. - As has often proved true in other places, the first efforts to establish a good newspaper upon a permanent basis were not successful in Athol, Freedom's Sentinel, started in 1827, and The Wliite Flag, which first appeared in 1850, had but a brief existence. Those of a later date have been more fortunate, either because tliey have been better managed financially or have better supplied the wants of the community. In 18(56, at a meeting of the citizens of Athol, called to consider the matter " of offering suitable inducement to a competent person to establish in town au independent weekly ijaper," a committee was appointed to attend to this business; and, as the result, Mr. R. W. Waterman, publisher of the Worcester West Chronicle, then printed in Barre, was invited to remove his establishment to Athol aiid issue his paper from this place. Mr. Waterman accepted the invitation, and for twenty-three years has edited and published the Chronicle in Athol. He has done good service in procuring, arranging and printing, from time to time, a multitude of facts relating to the history of his adopted town. If the Chronicle has a specialty, it is believed to be the collection weekly, through correspondents, of the local news from nearly every town in the northwest part of Worcester Count)', and giving the same to the public.

The Atltnl Trdnscript, which is designed to be " a first-class home paper and a popular advertising medium," was started, in 1871, by Messrs. Lucian Lord and Edward F. Jones, with Dr. V. 0. Taylor as editor. Later, Col. George H. Hoyt was connected with it as owner in part and editor. In 1873 Mr. W. L. Hill purchased a small interest in it and became its editor, a position which he has held uninterruptedly for the last sixteen years. Mr. Lord and Mr. Hill are now equal owners in the establishment, and the paper is very prosperous. From the first it has been the aim of Mr. Hill to make the Transcript a reliable and outspoken organ of local public opinion and progress, and how well he has accomplished his purpose is attested by the esteem and financial support secured. The editorials of few country papers find

With the opening of 1888, the Transcript Company prepared and printed for circulation An Annual, which is crowded with historical and other information of very great and permanent value. Few, perhaps, will appreciate the amount of time and labor expended upon this unpretending work, but whoever shall study it will become familiar with the principal facts regarding Athol's settlement and progress.

Fire Department. - From the last printed report of this organization it appears that the appropriation to maintain it for 1887-88 was $2,100, while the amount actually paid out to meet necessary expenses was $3,261.41. This expensive, but absolutely necessary organization, is an honor to the town.

The two steamers, Athol and Pequoig, the hose companies and the LTnion Hook-and-Ladder Company, have all efficient men at their head and enough assistants to do good execution in case of a fire. But serious complaint is made by the water committee respecting the working of the hydrants, which have been from the beginning, with the entire water- works, private property. And this matter has become of such pressing importance that the water committeee have examined several other sources of supply, and earnestly recommend to the town to take immediate action for the purpose of obtaining the right to take water for domestic and other purposes from a pond, which is large and natural, in the southeast part of Phillipston. The engineers who receiveil compensation for the entire year were Charles Gray and J C. Blake, while A. L. Pike was paid for six months' J. L. Dexter, J. H. Hoskins and H. F. Boutelle, for nine months each; and J. A. Carter for twelve months, but by two orders on the treasury.

Local Building in 1888.' - During the last year an unusual number of dwelling-houses and manufacturing establishments have been built in Athol. Of the former thirty-six have been erected, while many others have been thoroughly renovated or enlarged to such an extent as to be practically new. The houses erected on the Ridge Hill property are pleasant and attractive homes ; and the same may be said of nearly all the dwellings recently erected or renovated. From year to year the style of dwellinghouse architecture in Athol improves, and arr^gements for family convenience and comfort are multiplied.

Respecting new manufacturing establishments this may be said : The new Hill it Green shoe-shop, which is nearly completed, will cost about $15,000. A new piano-case shop has been erected on Cottage Street, while Bates Bros., wallet manufacturers, have doubled their capacity for work. Mr. J. B. Cardany has built a new block, and added to his store on Exchange Street until he has doubled his room for business, expending $12,000 in those enterprises. The Athol Silk Company and Athol Machine Company have put in much new machinery, while L. S. Starrett's tool business has been augmented by the addition to it of Charles I. Fay's extensive tool industry, lately removed from Springfield. L. Morse & Sons have made a large addition to their factory and built new sheds and dry-houses. A. F. Tyler and E. Ellis & Son have made additions to their factories for manufacturing sashes and blinds. For the Soapstone )Vorks a new building has been erected, and the cabinet works of Scott & Nye have been enlarged. Hapgood & Smith have made very important improvements in their match-factory. The establishment of the Athol Electric Light and Power Company, and its recent consolidation with the Athol Gas Company, show that the town is making progress in industrial matters. It is estimated that during the year 1888 more than $130,000 were invested by the citizens of Athol in building oi^erations.

College and University Honors. - Williams College appears to have been the favorite resort of the young men of Athol who have acquired a collegiate education. The following appear to have graduated from it, viz. : - Jesse Slratton, John Wiswall Humphrey, John Drury, Jr., William La Koy Haven, for many years an educator in New Jersey, Joel Drury Miller, clergyman, teacher and editor in Leominster, and Frederic Eugene Stratton. Henry H. Sprague, of Boston, and George A. Black graduated from Harvard University. Lewis M. Norton took his degree, Ph.D., at Gottengen, Germany, and is professor of organic and industrial chemistry in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while James P. Lynde is a graduate of that institution. Charles H. Sweetser, a graduate of Amherst College, has been an able editor and is well known as the author of the "History of Amherst College."

Grand Army or the Eepublic has two posts in Athol : viz., Parker Post, No. 123, whose headquarters are in Masonic Block in Athol Centre. This post holds in memory James C Parker, who was sexton of the Evangelical Church before going to wai'. He was killed at the battle of Newbern, N. C, while in the thickest of the fight, his rifie missing fire as often as he attempted to discharge it. Mr. Parker left a widow (since dead) and three children.

H. V. Smith Post, No. 140, meets in Grand Army Block. This post holds in memory Hubbard V. Smith, one who was among the first to enlist upon the breaking out of the war. In the engagement near Strasburg, Va., a minie ball entered his body just above the right hip, and passed so nearly through him that it was extracted above the left hip. Mr. Smith was taken prisoner, but later was paroled for exchange, and was brought home alive, though a great suflerer.

Of the organizations for the promotion of temperance and the various reforms for mutual help in case of disability, to strengthen the social tie, and to improve society in various ways, Athol has a very large number which are in successful operation, one of the most important of which is the one entitled "Sons of Veterans," General Sherman Camp, No. 65.

Deputy Sheriffs. - William Bigelow and Joseph Pierce held this office before 1807. Since that date James Oliver, 1807-28 ; Flavel Humphrey, Abijah Hill, 1828-38; John H. Partridge, 1838-59; and Gardner Lord (Incumbent), 1859, have been Deputy Sherifl's.

Manufacturing Establishments.' - The following notices of these are given without any particular regard to chronological order, or to the kind of goods manufactured.

It was very early perceived that the streams arising in and running through this town were sufficient in volume of water and rapidity of descent to furnish power for a great number of mills. Miller's River, Tully Brook (which the historian Whitney said in 1793 should have been called a river), Mill Brook and another stream in the south part of the town all have a permanent and large supply of water for manufacturing purposes, and soon after the settlement of the township a number of saw and grist-mills were built upon their banks.

In 1793 there were in Athol four grist-mills, six saw-mills, one fulling-mill and one shop with a triphammer, all carried by water-power. These were a necessity in supplying food, building materials, clothing and tools for the resident population. It was a later discovery that Athol might become one of the manufacturing centres for the Commonwealth and country. This business, which has now become of the first importance in the town, has been very gradually developed.

About seventy years ago Mr. Eliphalet Thorpe was manufacturing paper for the general market, as his old mill-book, dated January, 1825, and running about twenty years, shows. The manufacture of cotton-cloth was among the earlier industries of Athol, three hundred and sixteen thousand yards having been made at the Athol Cotton-Factory in 1837. This factory was built in 1811, and has had very many owners, not all of whom have been .successful. Bennett & Van Vaulkenburg now employ thirty-seven persons in it, and it is understood that they are conducting their business with enterprise and with remunerative profits.

Ethan Lord's Grist-Mill. - This was built between 1757 and 1760, and it then stood opposite Richardson's machine-shop, and before 1770 it was moved to

1 The facts now given respecting the manufacturing establishments of Athol, as they were forty or fifty years ago, have bsen k-indly furnished by Deputy Sheriff Gardner Lord, and many of them are corroborated by the author's distinct recollection.

its present site. Later Simeon and Ezra Fish owned and operated tlais mill, and it was known as " Fish's Mill." Their successors were William and Augustus Newhall, and Joshua Newhall succeeded them. Joseph Richardson then became the owner, but the entire property is now in the possession of Mr. Ethan ' Lord.

Sibley Scythe »S'Aop. - Before the close of the last century David Lilley made nails on the site of this shop, but about 1800 sold the premises to Perley Sibley and Stephen Hammond, who turned them into a scythe factory. Mr. Hammond died in 1835, and his interest in the shop was purchased by Russell Smith. Mr. Smith having died in 1868, and the Sibley family 1 wishing to give up the business, the whole was bought j by Ethan Lord, and is now occupied by the Athol Silk Company.

In the manufacture of footwear, which is the leading industry of Athol, Mr. Charles Milton Lee was early in the field, and has been eminently successful. He is the son of William D. Lee, and in youth was a farmer. In 1850, with about one hundred dollars, he walked to Boston and purchased a small stock of leather. During that year he employed no help, but the goods made and sold by himself brought about six hundred dollars. His business card (now before the writer) represents, not only his large and well-furnished factories as they now are, not far from the railroad station, but also the one-story home of his childhood and youth, and the still more unpretending shop in which he laboriously made his first pairs of boots and shoes for the general market. After this venture he employed help and enlarged his business. In 1858 he formed a partnership with his two brothers ten years, meanwhile establishing a business house in'Boston for the sale of their goods. In 18(59 this partnership was dissolved, Mr. C. M. Lee continuing the manufacture while his brothers carried on the business in Boston. During the twenty years since 1869 Mr. Lee's business has been constantly increasing, and he is now the owner of a group of three large and well-appointed brick factories in Athol, one of which he takes charge of in person, while his two sons, W. Starr and Auburn H., conduct the others. A third son, George M., has charge of his store in Boston. Children's shoes are the specialty manufactured in this immense establishment, and the sales amount to about five hundred thousand dollars annually. Mr. C. M. Lee was among the first to substitute steam-power for human muscle in the manufacture of foot-wear, and to introduce the best machinery into his factories.

Tools. - Mr. L. S. Starrett is the manufacturer of fine tools for mechanics. He commenced this business in 1880, employing, during the first year, ten men, which number is now increased to forty. January 1, 1888, Mr. Starrett issued a finely-illustrated catalogue and price-list of his goods, from which it appears that, among other exceedingly well-made implements for mechanical work, he puts upon the market his Patent Combination Square, Improved Bevel Protractor, Patent Double Square, Double Steel Square, Universal Bevel, Patent Inclinometer, Universal Bevel Protractor, Caliper Square, Micrometer Caliper Square, gauges of different kinds, slirink rules, calipers of various patents, dividers of all kinds, levels, speed indicators, etc.

The Athol Machine Co. was organized under the General Statutes of Massachusetts in 1868. Capital stock paid in, $50,000. This company have an iron foundry, and manufacture hardware specialties, vises, meat-cutters and machinists' tools in general, employing forty workmen. Their products are sold in every State of the Union, and in many foreign countries. The president of this company is George T. Johnson ; D. A. Newton is secretary and treasurer, S. H. Bellows is superintendent, and these form, with A. Bangs and W. H. Parmeuter, the Board of Directors.

The Millers River Manufaciiiring Company, incorporated in 1863, had at first a capital of $40,000, but this has since been reduced to $30,000. On two occasions this company has suffered much by the destruction of their property by fire. They employ seventy workmen, and manufacture satinets and blankets. Before the death of Mr. C. C. Bassett, he and Mr. George T. Johnson were understood to have a controlling influence in this company.

George Oerry & Son are manufiictures of wool, waste-dusters, mill gleanings, &c., employing five workmen. Mr. Gerry has been in business about forty years.

George S. Brewer commenced business as a woodturner in 1870, employing three workmen. He leased his shop to Dennis Goddard in 1887. Mr. Brewer was the contractor for laying the foundations and building the dam for the New Co-operative Company's shoe shop in the Upper Village.

E. E. Partridge manufactures warps, satinets and woolen-goods at his mill in Partridgeville. He is understood to be the owner of the mill, and employs about fourteen persons.

The Athol Carriage Works were started in 1876. L. C. Sawin is the proprietor. He employs but little help, and makes no estimate of the amount of his business.

Edwin Ellis (who died in July, 1888) commenced the manufacture of doors, sashes and blinds in 1847. More recently the business has been conducted by

E. Ellis & Son, and the manufacture is confined to sashes and blinds. Fifty men are employed in this establishment, and the value of the annual product is sixty thousand dollars.

L. Morse (& Sons (an old establishment dating from 1850) manufacture cribs, cradles, towel-racks, tables and washstands. Their factory was built in 1869. The " Morse Patent Folding Settees," which are vastly superior to everything else of the kind in the market, and are found in a multitude of halls and vestrys, come from this establishment, in which sixty men are employed. The value of the annual product is seventy-five thousand dollars.

Dennis Goddard commenced the manufacture of shoe-boxes in 1887, and employs four persons. His sales amount to two thousand dollars annually.

Stratlon Brothers d: Co. established themselves in the manufacture of house-finish, packing-boxes, etc., in 1886. Tliey employ seven men, and their annual product amounts to fifteen thousand dollars.

C. Warren Cheney has a job machine-shop, commencing his business in 1870. He is the inventor of the Climax Lawn Mower, and sold his right in this machine to a New York company in 1888.

In 1880 IF. H. Kauffman went into business with Mr. Handy, and in 1885 became sole proprietor. Mr. Kauffman employs fifteen persons manufacturing woolens and satinets. His mill produces annually one hundred and fifty cases of goods, each case containining nine hundred or one thousand yards,

H. S. Ooddard and Robert Maiining began making piano cases July, 1888, in a mill built by the citizens of Athol for their use. The firm-name is Goddard & Manning. They are employing twenty-one men, and will engage more as soon as may be. Their production amounts to about one liundred cases per month.

The firm of Palmer 4' Bates began business in Athol in 1871, but failed in 1879. In that year Bates Brothers began business, and now employ from seventy to seventy-five persons, in the manufacture of wallets and pocket-books of all kinds.

Co-operative Furniture Company was established in 1879. In 1883 their mill was burned, since which time the business has been carried on in the mill of Monroe Cheney. They make pine furniture, and employ six men.

F. W. Breed, of Lynn, manufactures ladies' shoes in Athol Centre, under the firm-name of Athol Shoe Co., and employ about two hundred and seventy-five persons. The brick factory which Mr. Breed occupies, which stands near the Evangelical Church edifice, was erected in 1887 by a co-operative company, at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars, and was first occupied November 26, 1887. This establishment manufactures goods of two hundred thousand dollars' value annually.

A. F. Tyler manufactures saslies, blinds, window j screens, screen doors, etc., and does a large business. He commenced in 1876, and now employs forty men. His factory comprises a three-story thirty-two bv j one hundred and twenty-five feet mill, a three-story ! thirty-five by seventy-five feet frame structure, used as a warehouse, and a lumber shed one hundred by two hundred feet. Mr. Tyler has an eighty horsepower steam-engine in service.

M. L. Lee & Co. manufacture men's, youths' and boys' kip boots, brogans and plow shoes, and employ from sixty to eighty persons. This company was established in 1861. About one hundred cases, consisting of twelve hundred pairs of boots and three hundred pairs of slioea, are produced weekly. This firm has an office and salesroom at No. 117 Pearl Street, Boston, through which the greater part of their trade is effected.

0. E. Teho has a two-sett woolen-mill at Pinedale. He runs thirty looms and employs thirty-five workmen. Satinets are produced at this mill in large quantities. Pinedale was formerly called NVheelerville, and upon the site of Mr. Tebo's mill was a large establishment for the manufacture of woodenware.

In 1888 a soap-stone factory was established. The stone is obtained and drawn from Tully Mountain and made up in such forms as the necessities and tastes of the community may demand.

Oakes' Peg Shop (Templeton Road). - This was built by Abraham and Ira Oates about 1825 and they manufactured shoe-pegs in it for about thirty years. The machinery was then removed by its purchaser, a Mr. Wilder, to the Lower Village, where it was soon consumed by fire. The mill fell to the ground in 1876.

Kennebunk Mill. - This was erected about forty years ago by Job Frye, and by him, Isaac Stevens and Jonathan Wheeler used as a saw-mill for about ten years, when W. H. Amsdeu purchased it and converted it into a door factory. Mr. Amsden's property was small, it is understood, when he established this business, but when he died, about two years ago, his estate was appraised at more than sixty tliousand dollars. W. H. Amsden's sons now conduct the business.

W. H. Amsden established the manufacture of doors and sashes in 1847, and retired in favor of O. F. Amsden in 1879, but a year later became a partner of the latter. The business rfas then continued for six years, or until the death of the senior partner, under the firm-name of W. H. Amsden's Sons. William H. Amsden was admitted to the firm in 1887. The number of men employed is twenty-five and one million feet of lumber are consumed annually. The business of this firm extends from Massachusetts to Ilorida.

0. Kendall d- Co.'s business was established by the late Ozi Kendall in 1847. His son, George N. Kendall, became a partner in 1850, and the firm-name became 0. Kendall & Son. In 1870 Ira Y.Kendall and George S. Pond were admitted as partners, the firm-name then becoming Ozi Kendall & Co. In 1874 George N. Kendall sold out to his partners and ten years later the other partners bought out Ozi Kendall. In 1887 this firm retired from business, selling their shop to Henry Cook.

For many years the "Ozi Kendall Boots" brought the highest prices all over New England and beyond. During the Rebellion many of the soldiers from Athol and the neighboring towns were supplied with them, and after a year's marches amid the sands and swamps of Louisiana returned with them upon their feet in substantially good condition.

Rk-hnrdson'x Miichine-Shnp. - This was built in 1824 by .Josiah Willard and .James Young, and used by them as a carpenter's shop. Mr. Willard sold, at length, to Stillman Knowlton and Mr. Young to Nathaniel Richardson. In 1855 Mr Richardson became the sole owner, and remained such till his death, though for a few years before that event his son, Charles Frederick Richardson, had the jiriiicipal charge of the business to which he has now succeeded, employing about fifteen men.

Among others. Judge Charles Field, Dr. J. P. Lynde and the publishers of the Chronicle and Transcript have aided greatly in the preparation of this historical sketch, while Messrs. Warren H. Kendall and William G. Lord, young gentlemen of decided historic tastes, have been indefatigable in collecting material for this work.

Biographical Addisojj M. Sawyer

Addison M. Sawyer, of Athol, is widely known as an inventor and as a prominent pioneer in many fields of study and investigation. He is a son of John and Lucy (Balcom) Sawyer, and was born in Templeton, August 14, 1827. The family, through many generations, has been distinguished for mechanical skill and for aptness in the use of tools and the application of machinery. The father of the subject of this sketch was a farmer and a mechanic, and while the sons attended the stated terms of the public schools of their native town, they were early familiar with labor, and were trained in habits of industry. An elder brother. Sylvanus Sawyer, whose inventions had laid the foundations of an important industry, in company with another brother, Joseph B. Sawyer, began the manufacture of cane at East Templeton,