Lawrence City (part 2 of 6)

During the earlier years of Lawrence the principal industries were the large cotton and woolen mills, located mostly upon the North canal and dependent upon the dam in the river for their power. But after the Civil war many industries of wide range of character were drawn to Lawrence. A second canal was constructed on the south side of the river, and as the calls for more mill sites were made, this canal was extended in length. Steam power is also used in many factories and shops, and, within a few years, electrical power has been introduced, the Pacific Mills having in operation a large electric power house a short distance from the plant. Paper mills, machine shops, iron and brass foundries, wood-working establishments, shoe factories, and many others have been added to the industries of the city. A notable feature of the expansion of the larger plants is the gradual disappearing of the old corporation boarding houses.

The diversified nature of the textile industries of Lawrence has done much to keep it on the level keel of prosperity when other manufacturing cities staggered under the depression in their one line of production. When the cotton goods market is poor the worsted goods market is apt to be all right, and, as Lawrence manufactures both lines extensively the city is not so seriously affected when one market falls ofif. This city does a tremendous business in worsteds, being according to the United States Bureau of Statistics, the second largest producer of fine worsteds in the country, Philadelphia alone leading it.

The relationship between capital and labor, between the employer and the employed, is always an important factor in any manufacturing community. Lawrence, with a few exceptions, has been free from strikes and labor troubles. The only controversy that could be considered as very serious was the big strike of 1912, which was attended with violence and, through the misrepresentations of unscrupulous or ignorant writers, brought the city into ill-repute. As a rule the corporations and employers have been liberal and fair in their management of aft'airs and the laboring classes have been reasonable and patient in their demands ; each preferring peaceable arbitration to compulsory measures for the settlement of their difficulties.

The many small property owners in Lawrence bear testimony to the thrift and industry of its wage earners. The city is noted for the large percentage of working people who own their homes.

Twenty- Seven Years Of Progress

From 1890 to 191 / Lawrence had its greatest development. These years are remarkable for the great number of public improvements made, and the extraordinary expansion of the city's industries and subsequent influx of population and growth of property valuation.

The year 1891 saw the passing of the horse car and the applying of electric power on the street railway, whose lines soon began reaching out through all parts of the city and to surrounding cities and towns. The removal of Gale's hill and the filling in of the low lands of ward five were started, and steps were taken toward the establishment of a filtration system in connection with the city's water supply that year. The following year the construction of the filter beds was begun. In 1896 the high service system was added to the water works. In the meantime, there was a radical departure in school house construction with the building of the Rollins school, which was soon followed by the erection of the Tarbox school in 1895 along the same modern lines. The State armory was completed, as was the Public Library building during this construction period. Great improvements were made in the sewerage system, the Water street sewer, draining the lowlands of ward five, being built in 1893, ^^'^^ the construction of the Shanty Pond sewer, draining the section of South Lawrence west of South Broadway, being started in 1895.

In 1896 Engine 7's house and Engine 6's house were completed. The following year the Wetherbee school was built. In 1898 land was purchased and plans selected for the new; High school on Lawrence street, and on June 17 of the following year the corner stone of the building was laid. The same year land was secured for the erection of the Bruce school. In 1900 Engine 8's house w^as built. The construction of the present courthouse was started and the new General hospital building dedicated in 1902. The following year the United States government purchased land for the postofiice building in Depot Square. In 1904 the erection of the Bay State block, Lawrence's tallest building, was begun, and work started on the postoftice and Hood school buildings. In 1905 two attempts were made to secure an auxiliary water supply from driven wells, but all borings failed. About the same time an agitation started for the covered filter, located north of the original filter bed. In

The year 1905 saw the beginning of the greatest period of building construction since the founding of the city. In the three years that followed, it has been estimated, there was $10,000,000 expended in building operations. The magnificent Wood mills were erected in this period, also the Ayer mills and great additions to several of the other industrial plants. The enormous increase in manufacturing facilities attracted thousands of people to the city, and in providing accommodations for them hundreds of dwellings were erected, besides a number of business blocks. Public improvements kept pace. In 1907 the erection of the large Central fire station was started, and was completed the following year, when Engine 9's house was also built.

In 1908 began the movement for permanent street pavement, with the paving of Common street. The following year Essex street was repaved, and it is today one of the finest roadways in New England. In 191 2 paving operations were taken up on a still larger scale and in the next five years over a half million dollars was spent by the city for street paving. All of the main thoroughfares have been paved with granite blocks, besides many other streets. In 1909 the Tuberculosis hospital was built, and in 1910, Engine 4's house.

In the fall of 191 1 the question of a new city charter was taken up by the voters, with the result that the old original charter was abolished and the commission form of government adopted. The same year the Eireen school was built.

The year 191 2 goes down in history as probably the most eventful since the incorporation of the city, - important because of the radical change in the management of the city under a new charter, but in the main because of the big strike of mill operatives, that through the misrepresentations of itinerant agitators and unscrupulous writers attracted international notice, and cost the city, county, state and corporations huntlreds of thousands of dollars, besides reflecting discredit upon the community.

The strike and subsequent happenings did not give the people much time to look into the workings of the new charter, but it has since proven its worth, though there are some features of it which might be improved u]Jon. A notable event of 1912 was the establishment of the supervised playground system, which has met with remarkable success. A deep interest in the city playgrounds followed with the result that the park system has been extended and big improvements have been made on all the grounds.

Twenty-Seven Years Oe Progress 5 1

a survey of the Ivlerrimack River was made for a proposed deep waterway. A regrettable event of this year was the disaster which occurred on June 30, when 1 1 boys were drowned in the Merrimack River as the result of the collapse of a gang plank at one of the bathhouses. The use of these houses was discontinued in consef[uence, and it is expected that they will be replaced in the near future by a suitable municipal swimming pool.

A notable improvement in 1914 was a revision of the building ordinances, the city council adopting a building code prepared by the planning board. That year work was started on the construction of a new police station. In the year 191 5 was experienced a business depression, when the city government was confronted with a difficult problem in providing work for the unemployed. The construction of the Ward One sewer was started, and the building of the new central Oliver grammar school was also begun, on June 2, that year.

The years 1916 and 1917 were the busiest and most prosperous vears in the city's history. The great demand for textile products, caused by the European war, kept every mill running to its full capacity, and labor was in great demand. Municipal and general business interests shared in the beneficial results. The value of mill stocks reached such a point that the most unprecedented increases in corporation tax revenue were secured by the city. Big voluntary raises in pay were given the mill operatives. Outside the extraordinary activity of the industries, the notable events of these years were two calls to arms by the national government. In June, 191 6, the local militia units were called to the Mexican border, when trouble threatened with ^Mexico. In April, 191 7, a more serious summons came when war was declared against Germany.

Lawrence Today

AREA : - 4,577 acres, about equally divided by the Merrimack River. 2,216 acres in North Lawrence; 2,097 i" South Lawrence; 264, Merrimack River.

SITUATED : - Within easy reach of seaboard. Twenty-six miles from Boston, on lines of Boston & Maine Railroad, v.ith 150 passenger trains daily ; also centre of street railway system, carrying 9,000,000 passengers yearly. Excellent water power. Merrimack River which flows through city turns more spindles than anv other stream on earth.

POPULATION : - Over 100,000, including 47 nationalities. Three suburban towns adjoining depend almost entirely upon city's industries and mercantile enterprises. Combined population of Lawrence and contiguous towns, over 130,000.

INDUSTRIES : - New England's greatest textile centre. Largest woolen textile manufacturing centre in the United States (aside from Philadelphia carpets). Third city in Massachusetts in value of general products, Boston and Worcester only exceeding it. Has largest print works and worsted mills in the world. Mills cover nearly 300 acres. Over 30,000 employed in the textile plants alone. Annual payroll of over $32,000,000 ; annual production of over $150,000,000; invested capital of over $127,000,000. Wide diversification of industries, manufactures including: - Worsteds, v/oolens, cotton cloth, print goods, paper, paper mill machinery, shoes, shoe machinery, braids, rugs, carriages, wheels, bobbins, fibre board, boilers, chemicals, soap, loom. harnesses, mill supplies, besides various products of foundries, machine and woodworking shops, granite works, etc.

PUBLIC HEALTH: - According to mortuary statistics for July, 191 7, Lawrence leads the cities of the country in health conditions, notwithstanding the mixed nature of population. City has excellent w^ater supply system. First successful municipal filtration plant installed here. Reservoir, jnmiping station and 103.5 miles of water mains. 90 miles of sewers. 17 parks and playsteads, comprising 164.67 acres. General, municipal and tuberculosis hospitals. Medical inspection and dental clinics in connection with

Lawrence Today 53

PUBLIC SAFETY : - Well equipped police and fire departments. Police station, district court and nine engine houses. High pressure water service in fire hazard district. State armory and three units of state militia. Well lighted thoroughfares. io8 miles of streets. 70 miles of accepted streets. 18.8 miles paved with granite with cement grouted joints.

EDUCATIONAL: - In educational advantages compares .favorably with any other city of its size in the country. ^^ public schools, including evening courses, elementary, grammar and high grades. Eight parochial schools. Well equipped industrial school. Two commercial schools. Public library with 70,000 volumes. Free lecture courses. 43 churches, all denominations, besides a large number of other organizations active in the interest of the moral and physical development of the community. Over 200 fraternal and charitable societies. Four enterprising daily newspapers. Live Chamber of Commerce.

GO\'ERNMENT: - Commission form, including the initiative, referendum and recall. Concentration of responsibility and a close relationship to the electorate are prominent features of plan. Number of voters, 13,000, including 380 women who are privileged to vote for members of the school board. 19 voting precincts, included in six wards. 21,000 male polls. One of the lowest tax rates in the state, - $18.80 per thousand. Assessed property valuation (1917), $84,077,651.

MERCANTILE : - Centre for several surrounding towns. Shopping district lined with finely appointed, well equipped stores, several of which are metropolitan in proportions.

BANKS : - One national bank, three trust companies, three savings and three co-operative banks, besides a Morris plan bank for handling small loans. Over $30,000,000 of saving deposits in banks of Lawrence.

REMARKS : - A shire town of Essex County, with courthouse and registry of deeds. Post Office of the first class. A city with a most cosmopolitan population, industrious, thrifty, law-abiding people, living in harmony. Comparatively free from labor troubles. A city of homes, remarkable for the number of workers who own their homes. A progressive city, ever ready to welcome enterprise and encourage it.

First Disaster In Lawrence

The first disaster or accident of unusual seriousness to occur in Lawrence was recorded on October 12, 1847. It was in connection with the building of the Merrimack River dam. Two men were killed, two seriously injured and three slightly hurt.

At the time of this accident about 300 feet of the dam on the south side and 100 feet on the north side of the river was completed, the water meanwhile running through the unfinished space of 500 feet. It became necessary during the progress of the work to shut off the water from this by a coffer dam. The timbers were all in position and supposed to be securely boarded, and workmen were tjngaged in putting down flashboards. Without warning that portion of the dam upon which they were engaged rose up on the surface of the water and 15 men were carried amid broken timbers by the rush of the flood upon the rocks 25 feet below.

L. Al. Wright, superintendent of the wood-work, and Captain Charles H. Bigelow, the engineer in charge, were in a scow at the time, and barely escaped with their lives, the latter being badly injured.

The Fall Of The Pemberton Mill

"No cyclone or whirlwind had swept the plain : no torrent had undermined ; no lightning stroke had rent ; no explosion had shattered the fair structure. Some inherent and fatal defect invited and caused collapse so complete that it came without warning and overcame every element of strength and solidity." - The late Ho.n. R. H. Tewksbury in his history of the calamity.

We of this generation have had our trials, but they are as nothing compared to those of the early residents of Lawrence who experienced the shock of the most dire calamity that has ever befallen the city, - the Fall of the Pemberton Mill. Coming in all its appalling magnitude just as the city was recovering from the stagnation following the crisis of 1857, it fell upon the community with terrible and crushing force.

To fully understand the gloom into which Lawrence was plunged, those living in the flush times of today must remember that the three years, 1857, '58 and '59, immediately preceding this calamity, had been years of financial depression. Lawrence had suffered in common with, but more than other localities.

The Bay State Mills, then the largest woolen industry in the country, had failed and ceased operations. The great stone Machine Shop building (now part of the Everett Mills) was silent and deserted. The Pacific Mills were in the experimental stage, struggling to survive ; there were rumors of failure or stoppage of all work at the Atlantic Cotton Mills, and actual closing at the Pemberton Mill. Building had almost entirely ceased ; the population had decreased fifteen percent and valuation had shrunk from former figures; real estate was for sale at ruinous prices. Only when the great demand for manufactured goods, growing out of the war of the Rebellion, came, with the prosperous years that followed, did the city fully recover lost ground and start upon a progressive course that has had no serious setback.

The Pemberton Mill was built in 1853 by the Essex Company for a manufacturing corporation of which John Pickering Putnam M^as the managing director. It was constructed in accordance with plans made by Capt. Charles H. Bigelow, the architect and engineer, and the work was superintended by him and his assistants. It was one of the lightest, most attractive, and apparently most substantial structures in the city. It had been in continuous operation, except during the financial depression of 1857 - '59, and early in 1859 had been purchased by David Nevins of Methuen and George Howe of Boston, who paid $325,000 for the plant which had originally cost about $840,000.

Under their management the mill had again been put in operation and there were signs of prosperity, when on the loth of January, i860, shortly before 5 o'clock in the afternoon, while the machinery was in motion, without a moment's warning, the whole structure trembled, tottered and fell, burying beneath its shapeless, broken ruins the mass of humanity, teeming within its walls. There went down amid that pile of brick, mortar, timbers and broken machinery, 670 men, women and children.

The tidings flew like wild fire throughout the city and immediately a sturdy corps of volunteer mechanics and workers of every occupation covered the ruins, clearing away debris and rescuing the trapped operatives.

Had no further calamity occurred the loss of life by this downfall would have been greatly lessened, but, about 10 o'clock, just as the rescuers were reaching many of the victims, there was a cry of alarm that appalled the stoutest hearts. A lantern in the hancfs"l)f a workman was broken by a chance blow from a pickax, wielded by another rescuer, and the ignited fluid fell among inflammable cotton and oily waste that burst into flames, unquenchable by means at hand. Fed by saturated cotton, shattered timber and crude waste, tongues of flame darted like serpents from openings in the huge smoking ruin.''

Firemen labored incessantly to reach and subdue the flames, but so completely were the layers of broken machinery covered by the bent and twisted floors that it was well-nigh impossible to efifectively reach the spaces where many living employes w^ere pinned among broken fragments of machinery, shafting and material in process of manufacture. Between these layers of flooring there was a draught that fanned relentless flames creeping through every aperture and space and destroying all hope of escape for imprisoned sufferers.

The scene, lighted by bon-fires and the flames from the burning mass, in the smoke that hung about it, was weird, awe-inspiring and indescribable. All about the streets, from every available outlook, an excited, hushed crowd gathered from the homes of the city and from the country about, looking on filled with fear and foreboding.

There were 918 persons employed by the corporation but of these nearly one-third were at work in outbuildings or in the yard and were therefore out of danger. Of the 670 persons in the mill when it fell, 307 escaped unhurt, 88 were killed, 116 badlv injured and 159 slightly injured. It seemed almost miraculous that such a large percentage of employes escaped with their lives.

The Fall Of The Pemberton Mill 57

The City Hall was transformed into a hospital and morgue for the wounded and dead by order of Hon. Daniel Saunders, Jr., who was mayor at the time, and the physicians of the city, as well as those of neighboring towns, volunteered their services and labored untiringly for the relief of the sufferers. The scene at the City Hall was one long to be remembered. Here the wounded were cared for during the night and the dead were carried for identification. At one time there were 54 wounded patients in the hall, and the services rendered by many women, not only there but in the homes of the sufferers, were invaluable. The heart-rending pathos witnessed in the identification of the dead can be left to the imagination.

The calamity stirred the charitable impulses and awakened the sympathy of an entire country. A relief committee was organized, of which Mayor Saunders was chairman and Hon. Charles S. Storrow was treasurer, and by every mail came such a flood of unsolicited contributions that it was soon deemed advisable by official notification to stay the generosity of the givers who were anxious to assist in alleviating the suffering caused by the disaster.

All movements for the relief of the injured, the care of and wise and just distribution of money and supplies contributed by the charitable were carried out with surprising promptitude. Scarcely had the first shock subsided when the machinery for rendering all possible relief was fully in operation. In the work of bringing order out of the chaos Hon. Daniel Saunders, Jr., the mayor, was a most competent leader. The committee of relief comprised Hon. Daniel Saunders, Jr.. Charles S. Storrow, Henry K. Oliver, William C. Chapin and John C. Hoadley. The district inspectors were Sylvester A. Furbush, J. Q. A. Batchelder. Edward P. Poor, William D. Joplin, Henry Withington, Elbridge Weston and Daniel Saunders, Sr. They constantly conferred with the committee, giving assistance and confining aid to deserving and proper cases.

The total amount of the contributions received was $65,834.67 and of this sum $51,834.67 was disbursed in aid of the sufferers and for funeral, medical and other expenses and the $14,000 remaining was invested for annuities in trust in the Massachusetts Hospital L,ife Insurance Company. The larger part of this trust fund has been expended for the relief of more cases needing continuous aid. The trustees employed Pardon Armington, afterwards mayor of the city, as clerk of this relief committee and he made accurate and complete records of the receipts, disbursements and doings of the faithful trustees.

Four days after the catastrophe Mayor Saunders issued a proclamation appointing a day for fasting and prayer and calling upon the people to abstain from labor and to hold religious services in the various churches. The propriety of the call was acknowl-

A jury was summoned by Dr. William D. Lamb who was then the coroner, and after hearing the evidence of eye-witnesses and experts found that the cast iron pillars used for supporting the several floors of the building were weak on account of defective casting, and it was agreed that this was the cause of the terrible disaster.

It was the recollection of eye-witnesses that the roof of the mill first sank at the southerly end and the \\iiole roof, freeing itself from wall supports, came crashing down upon the floor below. The great weight and force of the ialling roof carried down the upper floor with all the load of machinery and nothing could withstand the descending mass from this point, through all the stories, until the solid earth was reached. Every timber acted as a lever to tilt and crush the walls. The collapse of the main building was utterly complete and can be conceived of only by those who saw the ruin as it lay. The wall of the northerly end was thrown outward, a portion falling upon the ice that covered the canal. The upper floors, as they lay in ruin, overhung the lower at the north end toward the canal. Measuring from outside, the building had been 284 feet in length and 84 feet in width.

The wing building at the northerly end (60x37 feet dimension), of the same height as the main mill, five stories, did not fall with the main structure. In this wing were the counting room, cloth room and offices. There were also several low, detached buildings, as the dye house, picker house, cotton house, etc. The chimney at the south end remained standing with some crumbling walls attached. Only the main building fell.

Of the dead bodies remo\ed from the ruins 13 were mutilated beyond recognition, and the remains were buried in a lot in Bellevue cemetery, over which was erected a plain granite monument, with the inscription : - 'Tn memory of the unrecognized dead who were killed by the fall of the Pemberton Mill, January 10. i860."

The present Pemberton Mills occupy the site of the old plant. Immediately after the calamity a new company, with David Nevins, George Blackburn and Eben Sutton as controlling owners and directors, organized as "The Pemberton Company", and rebuilt the works on the old foundations, commencing operations anew in 1861. Since that time they and their successors have continuously operated the mills at a profit. At the time of the disaster Frederick E. Clarke was the paymaster and cashier for the corporation. John E. Chase was the agent.

The Lawrence Cyclone

About 9.15 o'clock on a Saturday morning, July 26, 1890, a whirlwind swept over the whole length of the southern ward of the city, Ward six or South Lawrence, killing eight persons, injuring 65 and causing damage to property to the amount of approximately $45,000.

The tornado swooped down from the west at a velocity of a mile a minute. The morning had been oppressively hot, and shortly before 9 o'clock a furious rain-storm set in. Just as the rain ceased falling a black funnel-shaped cloud was seen approaching. It was high above Andover street and near West Parish road. It descended straight down on the cricket club grounds, a fenced enclosure of several acres in what is now known as Carletonville. The entire eight-foot tight board fence was levelled and, except for a short distance on the southwest corner, was thrown outward from the centre in every direction.

Farther on the tornado struck two dwellings on Emmet street. One of these was carried easterly and nearly ruined, and the other was completely demolished. Just east of this the Essex Company's "Old Blue Ledge", an abandoned stone quarry close by the present Wetherbee school, deflected the tornado upward over a thickly populated region in the vicinity of Durham and Newton streets and the houses escaped with the loss of shingles and a chimney here and there, but little damage being done until Broadway was reached. A portion of the roof of St. Patrick's church, at the corner of Broadway and Salem street, was raised from the walls, and the Cutler house nearby was destroyed. The superstructure of the Boston & Maine railroad bridge on Salem street w^as bent and twisted. Michael Higgins, a switchman of the railroad, was killed here, and little Helen Cutler was blown from the bridge and also killed.

From this point the progress for some 100 rods or more was across open ground to Springfield street wdiere the most damage was done to buildings and where the greatest loss of life occurred. Houses were piled in the middle of the street, and large blocks were torn and twisted. Thence the gale swept through South Union park, uprooting and levelling great trees. Then it struck Portland street where much damage was done. It spent itself at the entrance of the Shawsheen into the ]\Ierrima(?k River.

List Of Dead

The storm had barely passed before the mayor, Dr. John W. Crawford, was upon the scene of destruction surrounded by other members of the city government. The fire department at once began a careful patrol, and continued it until after all danger of fire bursting from the ruins had disappeared. The chief of police and the heads of the street, health, and public property departments were also promptly on hand with a large force of men and teams. Their efl:'orts with those of the firemen, seconded by hundreds of ready volunteer workers, soon extricated the dead and wounded from the wreck. The wounded were quickly conveyed to the General hospital and the Orphan Asylum, where they were received by skillful and tender hands and efBciently cared for.

Within an hour after the storm the mayor and aldermen had constituted themselves a relief committee and had opened the Packard schoolhouse as a refuge for the homeless. Here many persons were lodged on Saturday and a few succeeding nights, and here also they were supplied with meals until their homes could be re-established.

Early in the evening a military guard, consisting of Battery C, Field Artillery, under command of Captain L. N. Duchesney, and Company F, Ninth Infantry, under Captain Joseph H. Joubert, was thrown around the wrecked district.

On the following day, Sunday, it was estimated that 50,000 strangers visited the city for the purpose of seeing the ruins. So effective were the measures for keeping order that no arrests were necessary.

On Saturday evening in response to a suggestion of Mayor Crawford, the Board of Trade held a meeting, at which its president, Franklin Butler, its treasurer, H. L. Sherman, Hon. Charles A. DeCourcy and Rev. Clark Carter, the city missionary, were added to the general committee for the purpose of receiving funds and disbursing relief. The committee included the following: - Hon. John W. Crawford, chairman; Fred AI. Libbey, Charles T. Main, George B. Elliott, Arthur A. Bailey, Otis Freeman, Jr., and Lewis P. Collins, aldermen ; Franklin Butler, Henry L. Sherman and Hon. Charles A. DeCourcy, from the Board of Trade, Rev. Clark Carter, city missionary, and William T. Kimball, city clerk, who

Throughout Sunday and ^Monday the work of clearing the wreck was pushed rapidly forward under the direction of John Battershill, su])erintendent of public property, and William S. Marsh, superintendent of streets.

Monday evening a mass meeting was held at city hall, which was cheered by messages of sympathy and offers of aid from other cities, and at which a large sum of money was subscribed by the citizens.

A committee, comprising Rev. Clark Carter, Rev. Michael T. McManus, pastor of St. Patrick's church, and Michael F. Collins, was appointed to attend to the immediate needs of the wounded, homeless and destitute. A committee was also selected to estimate the losses on buildings and to grant aid in repairing and rebuilding. Of this committee the Hon. James R. Simpson was chairman, ably supported by John K. Norwood, William R. Pedrick, A. A. Currier and John F. Hogan.

The amount of money drawn by the building committee to pa}^ awards was $29,879.23. The estimated damage was $37,000, and the actual damage aggregated $42,000, which includes all money paid out to replace damage done by the cyclone.

Tornado Of 1910

In the evening of August 4, 1910, Lawrence was again visited by a tornado, which, although not as terrible as the disaster of 1890, was very destructive. F'assing through the heart of the city, the storm left a trail of destruction. Trees were uprooted, buildings unroofed, the lives of many were endangered and one young man was seriously injured. Charles A. ^lahoney was struck by a falling branch of a tree and knocked from a wagon while driving along the lower end of Oak street. Although it was the next day before he regained consciousness, he eventually recovered. Probably the greatest havoc was wrought in the Common. Many of the paths were blocked by a tangled mass of uprooted and torn trees. The huge flag pole that stood opposite where the beautiful Shattuck staff is now located, v.-as snapped off at the base like a pipe-stem.

The Bathhouse Tragedy The Victims

Not since the cyclone in 1890 did Lawrence experience such a calamity as the so-called bathhouse tragedy. This disaster occurred on June 30, 1913, when a runway leading from the northerly bank of the Merrimack river, a short distance above the dam, to one of the municipal bathhouses, collapsed and 11 boys, ranging in age from eight to 15 years, were drowned. Scores of others were saved through the heroic work of volunteer rescuers.

The bathhouses were to have been opened that day, and boys from all parts of the city were attracted there, to escape the sun's hot rays, in the cooling waters of the Merrimack. It was nearly 2 o'clock, the hour the doors were to open, and the youngsters crowded on the board walk which extended out over the water to the entrance of No. i bathhouse, restlessly awaiting the arrival of William Blythe, the attendant, who was to admit them for the first swim of the season.

Without warning the runway collapsed. A panic ensued, and immediately the water was a mass of struggling boys. Their wild cries for help, mingled with those of their companions who were out of danger, attracted a few men who were in the vicinity of the scene.

Indeed, the one bright spot in the whole sad affair w-as the heroic way in which men and boys alike went to the work of rescue and resuscitation. ^lany a boy w-ho figured in that terrible happening owes his life to some police officer, doctor or civilian who assisted either in his rescue, or in the application of first-aid principles after

The heroism of young Joseph McCann, a 15-year-old crippled lad, who numbered among the victims, perhaps outshone that of all others, for he gave his life that somebody else's son might live. Young McCann was on the river bank when he saw his companions suddenly thrown into peril. Without hesitation he jumped into the river. Although a cripple, he was a good swimmer, and he struck out bravely toward the mass of struggling boys. But. as soon as he reached them, he was desperately grasped by several of the terrified lads, and drawn down to a watery grave.

Many other valiant acts were performed which space will not permit recounting. One young man, Henry Hinchcliffe, then 16 years of age, has since been awarded the Carnegie medal for bravery, and afforded a college education by the Carnegie Hero Fund. He was one of the first to the rescue, and under great difficulties succeeded in. bringing a number of the drowning boys to safety. Lyman Parker and Charles Patterson were at the Lawrence Canoe Club on the opposite shore when they heard the outcries. They crossed the river in a power boat. Both dived for bodies, and, assisted by John Keefe. recovered a number that were afterwards resuscitated. Sergt. Timothy J. O'Brien of the Police department directed the first aid work.

The scene upon the river bank until darkness set in made even strong men weep. It was a pitiable sight, as parents, brothers and sisters wrung their hands in agony and called for their little ones. A pathetic fact also was that two hours after the accident happened, when it was taken for granted that there were no more bodies in the water, some doubt was expressed that all had been recovered. This was given weight when a woman in the crowd that surged the river bank declared that her son was missing. The search was resumed, and half an hour later the appalling force of the calamity was brought home to the saddened crowd, when seven other lifeless forms were brought to the surface.

An expert diver was employed, and the search was continued until late into the night, and resumed early the next day, but all the missing had been recovered.

Shortly after the catastrophe the city government abolished the bathhouses. The relatives of each of the 11 victims were u compensated in the sum of $100 to defray the funeral expenses. Afterwards some families sought to recover damages from the municipality, but the Supreme court decided that under the laws of the I commonwealth they could not prosecute a claim for injury or loss 1 of life sustained at a place of public recreation from which no revenue was derived. City Solicitor Daniel J. Murphy defended

The Bathhouse Tragedy 65

Judge Jeremiah J. Mahoney of the District court held an inquest into the fatalities. In his finding he declared that the accident was due to the insufficiency of the fence or railing which crumpled away under the great and unusual weight thrown against or upon it when the runway settled, and that the settling of the runway was due to the fact that only one ledger board supported it instead of two. He expressed the belief that had the runway been supported by two ledger boards the accident would not have occurred.

Industrial Upheaval Of 1912

The year 1912 will go down into history as an eventful one in the annals of Lawrence, for it had hardly made its advent when there began the great textile strike which was not alone a history-making and a history-marking event in Lawrence, but an occurrence in which interest was centered throughout the entire United States if not beyond the confines of this country.

The strike lasted just nine weeks. It actually began on Friday, January 12, 191 2. and was formally declared ott on Thursday, March 14. of that year, although most of the strikers did not resume work until the following Monday.

It aiTected directly 27,000 operatives in the Lawrence mills. Its cost has been figured at approximately $3,000,000, including the loss of wages to the workers, the loss of business to the mills, the extra expense of policing the city and the harm to the general business of the community.

The direct result was an increase in wages ranging upward from five to twenty-five percent., a modification of the so-called "premium system", and a twenty-five percent, increase in pay for overtime work. Its efl:'ect was even broader in scope. Besides th. 27,000 operatives in the Lawrence mills, practically all textile work ers in New England were given an increase in wages as a result. Conservative figures place the number thus benefiting at 125,000 By the ordinary ratio accepted in figuring vital statistics this means that more than 500,000 people had their standard of living raised thereby.

In the way of explanation it might be said that the modification of the "premium system" meant that workers producing more than the required amount of work were allowed a premium or extra compensation every two weeks instead of every four, as was the case prior to the strike. The workers claimed t'lat bad luck with their work during the third (jr fourth week of the ; ur-week period often nullified the extra work of the first two weci This bonus system was in vogue only in the American Woolen >. mpany's and Kunhardt mills, though in the Kunhardt plant it was ba.-. 1 on weekly earnings.

The strike was conducted by an organization known as the Industrial Workers of the World by methods never before seen in a textile strike in this country and which came in for bitter

Industriai. Upheaval Of I912 Facts Of Strike In Nutshell

Cause : Reduction in pay with enforcement of new 54-hour law. Two regiments of infantry, two troops of cavalry, besides Metropolitan Parkpolice, assisted augmented Lawrence police force in preserving order. Anna LoPezzi and John Remi slain in clashes between strikers and police

Estimated cost of maintaining regular and special police by the city, $75,000. Estimated cost to state in maintaining militia, $200,000. Relief funds sent in from all over the country, approximately $65,000. More than 2,500 persons cared for daily during period of strike. $45,000 collected by L W. W. - Leaders of that organization accused of criticism. The regular police force was not sufficient to handle the mob. Assistance was rendered by the Metropolitan Park police department and enough special officers were sworn to increase the force from 84 to 200. The aid of the state militia was invoked, and in all 56 military companies saw service in Lawrence during the progress of the strike. The maximum number on duty at any time was 25 companies, averaging about 55 per company.

The enforcement of the 54-hour law, with its attendant loss of *^\vo-,hours pay per week, was attributed as the cause of the whole trouble. The measure prohibited women and children from workingin the mills more than 54 hours a week. But as the work of tl: women and children feeds the work done by the men the new la " meant a reduction of two hours in the week's working schedrii and, while the wages per hour were not changed, the amount f compensation received by the workers under the 54-hour law was s than under the 56-hour law.

The workers demanded that they receive the same wages regardless of the change in the schedule of hours and when the first payday arrived following the date that the 54-hour law went into efifect they resented the reduction, as they saw fit to regard it, and the strike began. This was on January 11. Five hundred weavers and spinners in the Everett, Arlington and Duck mills were the first to quit their work.

The forerunner of this great industrial conflict was a strike of 50 weavers at the Duck mill on January 2, owmg to a controversy over the new 54-hour law. On Wednesday, January 10, at a mass meeting of Italian mill workers in Ford's hall, it was voted to go on strike the following Friday. There was, however, the small strike on Thursday. January 11, forecasting the greater movement the next day when the storm broke which plunged Lawrence into a turmoil of strife, such as had never before been witnessed in its history.

Friday morning, January 12, snow began falling at 7.30 and through the whirling whiteness ran the constantly growing crowd of strikers. It started from the Washington mills with 500 and by 10 a. m. had 12,000 people out of the mills and the riot call sounding for the police. The mob marched over Union street and entered the Wood worsted mills. Weapons were brandished, belts were thrown ofif, obstacles were hurled into the machinery and workers were actually driven from the mills. Next the army of strikers went to the Ayer mills to get the workers out. Kere occurred the first clash with the police who were under command of Assistant City Marshal Samuel C. Logan. Marching across the Duck bridge the mob attacked the Duck and Kunhardt mills, breaking many windows.

The Industrial Workers of the World had a small organization of perhaps 300 in Lawrence, although little or nothing had ever been heard of it until the strike. Immediately its local leaders sent for Joseph J. Ettor, an Italian organizer of that body, and he arrived from New York Saturday morning, addressing a mass meeting in City Hall. He remained as chairman of the strike committee, which was organized on the following Monday, and the real leader of the strike until his arrest on January 30, on the charge of being accessory to the murder of Anna LoPezzi, an Italian woman, who was shot on January 29.

By Saturday night 15,000 of the mill workers of Lawrence were out. On Sunday, January 14, Ettor and the strike committee had a conference with Mayor Michael A. Scanlon and the members of the Board of Aldermen, when the strikers were advised to observe law and order and not invoke trouble or continue the destruction of property. Fearing a further demonstration upon the part of the strikers on the following Monday morning, however, every police officer was ordered to report for duty early and the three local militia organizations, Battery C of the Field Artillery, Company F of the Ninth Infantry and Company L of the Eighth Infantry, were ordered to report at the Amesbury street armory.

The next morning, Monday, January 15, there was a clash between the troops and the strikers and there was general disorder. Thirty-five arrests w-ere made. A strikers' parade started in the vicinity of Union street and proceeded along Canal street to the Washington mills. Here the mill gate was stormed and a number succeeded in getting into the mill where they were arrested. Then the mob moved up street along the canal to the Pacific mills where they were received with hose streams. After they had been repulsed a crowd armed themselves with sticks from a freight car standing on their side of the canal and smashed many windows in the Atlantic mills. Shots were fired from the mob at the mill watchmen, and one rioter was bayoneted, though not fatally, by a member of Company F in an atten:pt to rush the Atlantic mill gates.

This marked the entrance of the militia into the situation which had got beyond control of the civil authorities. Governor Foss ordered militia companies from other cities in the state to Lawrence, and from that day till several weeks later, w^hen the need of the military was no longer apparent, the iron grip of the soldiery was felt. Cordons of militia were thrown about the mills, and sharpshooters were located in the factory towers as a precaution against prowlers who might get by the line of soldiers. Later a portion of the militia did police duty in the foreign quarters and business section of the city. Col. E. Leroy Sweetser was ordered to take command of the troops in Lawrence. Police from numerous other cities and towns were also brought in to reinforce the local police.

The City Council members endeavored to bring about a conference between the strikers and the mill men but without success, and all eft'orts of the State Board of Arbitration to settle the strike were futile.

On Wednesday, January 17, there was another clash between the strikers and the militia, when the former tried to go into the mill district from which they had been ordered to keep out. In fact, hardly a day passed w'ithout a mix-up between the strikers and the police or militia. The troubles between the two sides grew constantly.

On January 20, the discovery of dynamite in three buildings on the "plains" gave rise to rumors of a plot to blow up the mills. It later developed, however, that the explosive was "planted". An attempt was made to prove that the "plant" was the result of a conspiracy to discredit the strikers, but a trial in the courts failed to show that the mill operators were connected with it.

Jo Lawrence Yesterday And Today

daylight, hundreds of windows were smashed in the troUey cars bringing the people to work. This took place on Essex street, east of Jackson street, and on Broadway. Many were driven from the cars and forced back to their homes by threats of the strikers. The police were unable to cope with the situation. That same night a big crowd assembled in the vicinity of Garden, Union and Haverhill streets and attempted to parade through Union street. The police interfered and numerous shots were exchanged. Anna LoPezzi, an Italian woman, who was in the vicinity, was shot and instantly killed. During the melee Police Officer Oscar Benoit was seriously, though not fatally, stabbed in the back.

Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti, another Italian leader in the I. W. W. movement, were arrested on the following night, charged with being accessories to the alleged murder of the LoPezzi woman. It was claimed by the authorities that they had incited the crowd by alleged incendiary speeches and were responsible for the rioting. They were indicted by the Essex County grand jury but after a lengthy trial, which aroused interest even outside the country, they were acquitted. William D. Haywood who was accused, but acquitted, of being implicated in the murder of Governor Steunenberg of Idaho in February, 1906, when the latter was killed by a bomb during the big miners' strike at that time ; Carlo Tresca and Elizabeth Gurley-Flynn who afterwards were arrested in connection with strike rioting in Paterson, N. J., were also identified as leaders in the Lawrence strike. Haywood took charge following Ettor's arrest.

An outstanding feature of the presence of the soldiers in the city, which reflected a great deal of credit upon Colonel Sweetser, his officers and men, was that, notwithstanding the ugly demeanor of the strikers and the fact that many of them were armed, only one life was sacrificed in the clashes between the soldiers and the strikers.

On Tuesday morning, January 30, John Remi, aged 18 years, was fatally bayoneted on White street when about 200 strikers, mostly Syrians, attempted to hold a parade. Company H of Salem was stationed there and one of the soldiers ran his bayonet through Remi's lung in a charge on the mob which had defied the militia.

In the midst of all the excitement of the strike, on the night of February 2, the city was plunged into a frenzy of fear Ijy the discovery of one of the most sensational murders in police annals. Four persojis were found dead in a tenement on X'alley street, with innumerable knife wounds in their bodies. The murderer was never apprehended, although the crime was committed when the city was practically under martial law. It is believed that the motive was robbery, Shaef Maroon, 26, one of the victims, having drawn S485 from the Essex Savings Bank a few days before. The theory is that he was lured to the death house and slain, the murderer disposing of the Other three victims to remove all witnesses of the crime. Besides Alaroon, Joseph Savaria, 23, his wife, Mary, 18, and Evelyn Denis, born Tanguay, were killed by the mysterious assassin. Fortunately, there w^as no connection between the murder and the strike, and the terror of its revelation in the public mind w-as soon allayed. In a few days the murder was overshadowed by the deeper interest in the strike.

Further complications arose when the strikers attempted to send some of their children away to other cities to be cared for, which move the authorities believed to be for the purpose of exploitation. Special trains were engaged and the incident was attended with quite a demonstration on the part of the strikers. Capt. John J. Sullivan who had relieved City ^Marshal James T. O'Sullivan as head of the police department, interrupted the procedure, when on Saturday, February 24, he sent a number of officers to the North station and caused 15 children with their parents to be taken to the police station. This interruption put a stop to the sending away of children, but it also resulted in Congress ordering Attorney General Wickersham to make an investigation. The entire affair was aired in Washington where Alderman Cornelius F. Lynch who was director of the department of public safety, including the police department, and Captain Sullivan were called to explain the situation. Besides this investigation, there were at different times during the strike inquiries into the phases of the controversy by the Federal Bureau of Labor, a committee of the State Legislature and the attorney general of the state.

The last serious clash between the strikers and the authorities occurred on February 26. Before sunrise that morning there was a sharp encounter at the lower end of Common street between the police and men supposed to be strikers. There were 25 to 30 shots exchanged. One man, an Italian, was wounded in the shoulder.

During the strike relief funds were received from all over the country, approximately $65,000. More than 2,500 persons were cared for daily. A well organized relief station was maintained by the American Federation of Labor, where food, clothing and fuel were distributed to the needy.

Funds to the amount of $45,000 were received by the I. W. W. Shortly before the close of the strike, leaders of that organization were accused of mismanagement and misuse of these funds. Legal proceedings were instituted to obtain information as to the manner in which the funds were handled. The investigation dragged along with many delays, but finally the Supreme Court found that certain funds were improperly used and the defendants were ordered to make a proper accounting of the same. Up to date there is no knowledge of any accounting having been made.

Aftermath Of The Strike

During the big textile strike of 191 2 Lawrence was infested by a stream of free-lance investigators, sociological, cranks and socalled "sob" writers, the last mentioned doing the city much harm by the way of misrepresentation in distorted newspaper and magazine articles, which continued long after the controversy between the mill operatives and the manufacturers had been adjusted.

To offset this calumny and restore Lawrence's good reputation, a citizens organization was formed in the fall of 1912 and a campaign of publicity was started to set the city right in the eyes of the nation. The climax of this movement of rehabilitation came in the great patriotic demonstration on October 12 of that year. The motto was "For God and Country", and it was a direct rebuke of the L W. W.'s sacrilegious slogan, "No God ; No Master".

Although March 14 saw the formal close of the strike, it was really several months later before conditions became normal. The leaders of the L W. W., apparently not content with the concessions from the mills, managed to keep the foreign element in a fitful frame of mind and now and then there were disagreements and walk-outs, although nothing very serious occurred until September 2"].

On that day a second general strike took place when about 11,000 either walked out of the mills in sympathy with Joseph J. Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti, or were compelled to quit work through fear or the enforced closing of departments. It was claimed at I. W. W. headquarters that this move was without the sanction of the organization, although after it had occurred it w'as approved. At t' mass meeting of the sympathizers it was voted to hold what was termed "a protest strike" of 24 hours' duration on the following Monday as a demonstration in protest of the imprisonment of Ettor and Giovannitti whose trial as alleged accessories to the murder of Anna LoPezzi was scheduled to begin on that morning. Rioting marked this demonstration and operatives were assaulted by strikers on the way to the mills.

On the day preceding however, Sunday, September 29, a parade was held in direct violation of the permit issued by the police authorities, and the demonstration developed the most disgraceful scenes ever witnessed in Lawrence. Red flags and sacrilegious banners were carried through the city's streets and the Stars and Stripes were trampled on. At the head of the procession rode Carlo Tresca, an I .W. W. leader, and behind him was flaunted a large banner, bearing the inscription, "No God ; No Master". - Wild scenes followed the attempt of the ])olice to break uj) the ])arade and one pistol shot was fired on Lawrence street directly in front of the entrance to the police station. Before the demonstration was checked, Police Officer Thomas ^NlcCarlie was severely battered and Special (Jfficer William Ludwig was stabbed twice. Both officers later recovered from their injuries.

This anarchistic outbreak was the death knell of the I. W. W. in Lawrence. Public opinion crystalized and turned with potent force on that organization. The City Council started a movement for a gigantic parade of the loyal, patriotic, law-abiding people of Lawrence, to be held on October 12, as a rebuke of the lawless demonstration of September 29, and a citizens' committee co-operated.

A protest meeting against lawlessness was held Thursday evening, October 3, in City Hall. Alen and women of all classes and creeds, all imbued alike with patriotic fervor and the desire for peace and security, cheered the speakers till the hall rang. The sentiment spread through the city and the interest in the proposed flag demonstration became feverish. The city took on a gala dress, and as the day approached Lawrence was a mass of national colors. On October 12, Flag Day. as it came to be called, Lawrence had a new breath of life and patriotism. With no flag but the Stars and Stripes to be seen anywhere along the line of march and every parader carrying the national emblem, 32,000 people from all walks of life, men, women and children marched through the streets amidst patriotic airs from countless bands and the cheers from the thousands of spectators who lined the route of procession. The parade ended in the common where, it has been estimated, 60,000 persons congregated and participated in flag-raising exercises.

The men who flaunted red flags in their parade of anarchy a week or so before did a thing for Lawrence which the citizens of the city had not been able to do for months. It aroused them to a sense of their dignity. It stirred the civic pride in them and, as a result, the community was thrilled anew with patriotism and the anarchistic spirit which had stifled it was stamped out. This was the end of the detrimental influence of the I. W. W. It was crushed so completely that it never again became manifest.

The committee on parade for the Flag Day demonstration comprised: - ]Mayor Michael A. Scanlon. Aldermen Cornelius F. Lynch, Paul Hannagan, Robert S. Maloney and Michael S. O'Brien ; Gen. W. H. Donovan (chief marshal of parade), Charles E. Bradley, I^eonard E. Bennink, Michael J. Sullivan, Capt. Louis S. Cox of Battery C, Field Artillery, Capt. Daniel C. Smith of Company L,

The work of rehabilitation began with the organization of the Citizens Association. Approximately 5,000 citizens enrolled themselves as members. A comprehensive campaign of publicity was launched, and the true facts about Lawrence and the strike were placed in the hands of every newspaper editor in the country. The result was that Lawrence's good reputation was to a great extent restored.

Municipal Government And

Lawrence is under a commission form of government, so called. The general management and control of all the affairs of the city, except the public schools, is vested in a city council, consisting of a mayor and four aldermen, known as commissioners or directors. The general management and control of the public schools and property pertaining thereto is vested in a school committee of five, the mayor being a member ex-officio. All of these officers are elected at large, by the registered voters of the city, for terms of two years.

On November 7, 191 1, at the state election, the present city charter was adopted, and it went into eff'ect at 10 o'clock on the morning of Januarv i, 1912, when the government under the old charter was abolished and the newly elected city council and school board took office. The adoption of the new charter was the result of a vigorous movement for a change in the form of government. When the questions pertaining to the project were submitted to the voters by the legislature public sentiment was strongly in favor of a reform. On the question as to whether the old charter should be repealed the vote was: - Yes, 6,027; no, 2,214; blanks, 84c. The vote on the question as to the new form w'as as decisive. Two plans were presented: plan i, which was to establish a city government of a mayor and a council of nine members ; and })lan 2, which was to establish a government by commission. The latter was adopted by a vote of 6,077, as against 1,358 for plan i, with 1,646 blanks.

The old charter had been in vogue since the incorporation of the city in 1853, and in the nearly three score years of its existence it had been but slightly modified and amended. It had provided for what is familiarly known as a two-branch government, consisting of mayor and board of aldermen, and a common council. Subordinate officers and boards were either appointed by the mayor or elected by the city council. The board of aldermen comprised six members, one from each ward though elected at large, and the common council was composed of eighteen members, three being elected in each w^ard. The school committee had, besides the mayor, twelve members, two being elected in each ward.

engineers and a water board, both these boards were abohshed. upon the adoption of the commission form of government, their powers and duties being put under control of the director of pubhc safety and the director of engineering, respectively.

Under the present charter the administrative afifairs of the city are divided into five departments, namely: - Department of finance and public afifairs, department of engineering, department of public safety, department of public property and parks, and department of public health and charities. The department of finance and public afifairs includes all the sub-departments, boards and offices connected with it, such as the treasury, auditing, purchasing, assessing, sinking funds, tax collection, claims, registration of voters, city clerk and legal. The department of engineering includes the highways and other ways, street watering, sewers and drains, water and water works, bridges and engineering. The department of public safety includes the police and fire dcpaj-tments, lighting, wiring, weights and measures and conduits. The department of public property and parks includes buildings, parks and public grounds. The department of public health and charities includes the health and poor departments, city })hysician and public hospitals.

The following are known as administrative officers : - City clerk, city treasurer, collector of taxes, city auditor, purchasing agent, board of overseers of the poor, consisting of five persons, city engineer, city physician, board of health, consisting of three persons, of whom the city physician is one. city solicitor, board of park commissioners, board of sinking fund commissioners, board of assessors, board of trustees of the public library and a board of cemetery directors.

Prominent features of the present charter are the recall, initiative and referendum. These provisions are intended to bring the government and the people into closer relationship, and they provide an immediate and direct means of adjusting serious difficulties that may arise in the administration of government aft'airs. Provision is also made for publicity in all municipal matters, and there are restrictions tending to prevent hasty action on matters involving the expenditure of large sums of money. An outstanding feature is the concentration of responsibility.

Party or political designations or marks are abolished, and elective officers are chosen solely on the ground of personal qualification or fitness. When the new charter was adopted provision was made whereby the city council designated by majority vote the head of each department, except in the case of the mayor who acts as director of the department of finance and public afifairs. In 1914 the charter was amended to provide that the office of each director be designated on the ballot at the time of his election by the voters of the city.

Municipal Government And Departments Jj

The City Hall stands substantially as it stood in 1850. a building of bold and impressive outlines, architecturally a triumph of its day. This public hall has probably served more varied uses than any other building in Xew England. On its stage platform have appeared many of the world's famous lecturers, orators, authors, actors, musicians and politicians. The county courts were held in this hall prior to the time of building the court house. Many of the first local churches worshiped there before becoming established in their own edifices. It was a drill room for departing volunteers and in it, wrapped in the American flag, lay the remains of Needham, the first martyr of the Rebellion. There was a week, many years ago, V hen the hall, on Monday night was used for a brilliant ball ; on Tuesday evening, for religious revival services ; on Wednesday night, for a political caucus ; on Thursday, for a Sabbath school convention ; on Friday, for a dog show ; on Saturday, for a Fenian mass meeting, and on Sunday, for regular worship by an unhoused church, - and that week was not altogether exceptional. It was a morgue at the time of the Pemberton disaster, a house of mourning when Presidents Taylor, Lincoln and Garfield died and memorial services were held, and the funerals of a number of prominent soldiers and citizens have been held from it.

Prior to the building of the Town or City Hall, town meetings were held in Merrimack hall during the year 1847, but at the March meeting in 1848 the townsmen gathered in the Free Will Baptist meeting house, a one-story wooden structure, standing on the northeasterly corner of White and Haverhill streets. In the warrant presented at that meeting was an article which read: - "To see if the town wdll choose a committee to obtain a plan of a Town House, and to appoint an agent to superintend the building of the same."

On April 17 following, it was voted that a Town House be erected for the use of the town, "to include a town hall and such offices as may be judged necessary for the present and future needs of the town government". Discussions immediately started as to its location, and several sites were proposed. Finally, it was decided to erect the building in its present location, on Common street between Appleton and Pemberton streets.

The lot at the time of its purchase from the Essex Company had a frontage of 150 feet on Common street, but in 1855 eleven feet and six inches were taken for the laying out of Pemberton street, in which year also the iron steps that formed the original approach to the westerly entrance to the hall were constructed. The town paid $8,000 or fifty cents a foot for the land.

The contract for the construction of the building was let August 25, 1848, to Eli Cook, William I. Stetson and Alexander Mair of Boston, the plan of construction being prepared by ]vlelvin & Young of Boston, classed with noted architects of the time in this section. The contract price was $27,568, and out of this amount were reserved $i,GOO for a clock and bell, $700 for heating and $100 for ventilating apparatus.

The building is 120 feet 8 inches long, and 68 feet 8 inches wide, exclusive of the granite base which projects three inches all around the brickwork, with a tower zt^ by 24 feet in size on the front side. The contract price, besides the above amounts mentioned as reserved for special purposes, included the cellar masonry, the ashlar or granite base, the brickwork of the walls, all woodwork, slating and painting, also a sidewalk of brick with hammered granite edgestones, and a fence along the Common street side, "equal in cost and quality to that in front of the house of Capt. Bigelow". This house stood at the corner of Lawrence and Haverhill streets, and was removed to make room for the Pacific mansion now standing there. Charles Bean was chosen by the selectmen to superintend the construction. Xo building of its kind was ever more economically erected.

The Town House was accepted by the architect and building committee from the contractors, and it was delivered to the selectmen on December 5, 1849. ( )n the following day the town clerk, E. W. iVIorse, moved into the ofiice prepared for him and became the first occupant of the building. It was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the evening of December 10, 1849.

At the close of the financial year, March i, 1850. the value of the building and land was reported to be ^'ifj ,2<)2 and the furniture $2,166, which included the furniture for the Court of Common Pleas (now called the Superior Court ) that sat for a while in the large audience hall on the second floor, and also that for the Police Court which occupied the present City Council chamber. According to the town report for the year ending in March, 1851, however, the value of the property should be stated as $41,119, there being an account of additional claims paid, which had possibly been disputed.

The two brick safes between the city clerk's and the mayor's offices were the only ones built when the building was constructed. The brick safe in the treasurer's office was not constructed until 1855, that under the city engineer's office in 1874, and the one in the auditor's office in the fall of 1901. To heat the building, upon its completion, there were furnaces and at least one stove, and other furnaces and stoves were added in after years. There was a stove in the city clerk's office, to supplement the furnace heat, as late as 1875, when the steam apparatus was put in.

A prominent decorative feature of the City Hall is the large eagle on the tower. The eagle, with the ball and pedestal on which it stands, was designed and carved by John M. Smith, a member of the Board of Selectmen in 1848, who had charge of the woodwork construction at the Essex Company machine shop. It cost S500. Perched, as the bird is, about 156 feet above the ground, one does not realize that it is nine feet and six inches from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail, with other dimensions in proportion, and that the ball on which it stands is three feet in diameter. The eagle is in a position of preparing to spread its wings to fly, and in a description printed at the time it was regarded as a fit emblem for Lawrence, and the wish was expressed that the young community, so full of promise, might ever be actuated with the noble inspiration "to spread and bear learning, virtue and wisdom to all parts of the world".

The building is acknowledged to have no superior in construction in Lawrence, and it is admired by critics of good work even today. There are no better plain brick walls in the world than the walls of this old structure. Though age has toned its colors and mellowed somewhat its outlines, and far more costly and elaborate structures have since become common, the historic building still retains its charm.

The face brickwork was laid plumb bond, that is, all the joints are exactly over those of the second course below, which was the prevailing style of the best construction in those days. On the Appleton street side of the building at the corner of the alleyway in the fifth course above the granite base, is a brick bearing the names, "S. Lawrence. A. Lawrence". When the central mill of the Bay State Company, now the Washington Mills, was built, Samuel Lawrence, the treasurer of the company, having had some bricks made bearing the above inscription, had one of them built into the corner of the central doorway of the mill a little above the sill. Another was the one built into the corner of the Town House or City Hall where it still is. The S. was the initial for Samuel, and the A. for Alison, his wife. The placing of the brick in the wall of the Town House was another mark of respect for the family which so greatly assisted in the founding of the community.

up there after the evacuation of the fort by the Southern forces following the surrender of Charleston February 17, 1865. As a token of regard, they were presented to the City of Lawrence by G. V. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and a former citizen of Lawrence and at one time agent of the Bay State Mills. These fifteen-inch shot, with many others, were found among the ruins of Sumpter, having been fired from the Federal fleet of monitors during the bombardment of the fort on April 7, 1863. No gun of a bore greater than ten inches had been used on any other vessel or by the army during the war. In the week ending December 25, 1865, the shot, each weighing 350 pounds, were placed in position on the tower of the hall. The mountings were designed by Alderman Payne, and they consist of an iron wall plate in the shape of a shield embroidered by moulding in the form of a rope. On the shield is illustrated a monitor in relief, and from it projects a forearm and hand in which the shot rests. The arm is clothed with a naval sleeve, bearing the cuff of a rear admiral, ornamented in proper form with two bands of gold and a five-pointed star. The identification inscription was'provided by Ericson, the inventor of the n:onitor.

On December 18, 1849. soon after the town took possession of the building, the Court of Common Pleas opened a term of court in the audience hall with Judge Perkins on the bench. This court continued to sit here until October, 1854, when an order was adopted by the City Council providing that arrangements be made for it in Lawrence hall, which was located on the southeasterly corner of A-mesbury and Common streets, known now as Music hall.

In 1850 the town sold the old lock-up which had been located in the rear of the post office near the corner of Broadway and Common street and fitted up cells for prisoners in the basement of the Town House, in the brick arches which support the safes connected with the office of the city clerk. These cells soon fell into disrepute. The Lawrence Courier of March 15, 185 1, described them as "narrow, dark, unventilated, reeking with moisture, loathsome places, a disgrace to the town, and a dangerous piece of property". Accommodations for the purpose were sought elsewhere. The police court was then located in the present City Council chamber, and the small room at the westerly end was partitioned off for the judge. In June 1854, a committee of the City Council recommended that the police court be removed to the Empire building, formerly the Empire Hotel, located on the northwesterly corner of Essex and Appleton streets. It sat in what was for many years Needham hall, the old Grand Army headquarters, which is said to have been the dining room of the hotel ; and here the court remained until the original police station building was completed and opened June 24, 1867.

The original plan of arrangement of offices was as follows : - Beginning with the room in the southwesterly corner of the building and going east, the rooms on the south side of the corridor were occupied by the common council, the city clerk, the board of aldermen, the mayor, the assessors and the city treasurer in the room the latter now occupies, his present office including the one originally occupied by the assessors, the partition being removed some time in the 8o's. Opposite on the north side of the corridor, beginning at the easterly end and going west, the order of offices proposed was the school committee, the city marshal, the board of fire engineers, and the police court. (We were unable to find a record of where the auditor was located at that time.)

When the police court vacated, the common council immediately took possession of that room, and the board of aldermen moved into the room the common council had. There was much rearrangement of offices at first, but as near as can be determined the original layout was as above described. The school committee and the city marshal moved to quarters provided in other buildings later, as did the board of fire engineers and any other officials who may have had places in the hall and whose offices are not now located there. In 1874 a city engineer was appointed and given the office now occupied by that official.

Frederick H. Garfield was elected the first janitor of the Town House and of such school houses, not exceeding three, as the school committee might designate. His compensation was one dollar per day, not including Sunday, but he was to exercise the same care over the Town House on Sundays as on other days. It was evidently proper for him to work on Sunday, but wrong to receive pay for it.

The clock and bell in the tower are interesting reminders of the early days. Thev are the only markers of time, connected with the building, that do not i)ass into oblivion. The clock at one time chimed the hour. For years after the fire alarm was installed the clock did not strike. In 1895. however, a sentiment for the old timepiece revived. The hammer was rearranged so that it would not interfere with the fire alarm mechanism, and on May 3, 1895, the clock again for a time struck the hour, after a silence of a cjuarter of a century. From this tower, along with the other bells of the city, "the curfew tolled the knell of the parting day" ; when it ceased to do so. no one remembers, but the sweet tones of the bell still call the children to school. The bell was made by H. N. Hooper & Co. of Boston, and cost $999.96. It is one of the largest in Lawrence, and before the bell on the John R. Rollins school was placed in position it was the largest. It weighs 3446 pounds.

the winter of 1859 - 60, was provided with quarters in the basement of the City Hall, where the city grocery is now located. For a number of years this room was used as a ward room, and occasionally as a supper room for entertainments held in the audience hall.

The auditorium on the second floor, which was originally designed for the use of the public in town meetings, was at first but a large unattractive hall except for its noble proportions. There was a gallery over the entrance at the easterly end, and at the westerly end, a rostrum about 14 feet deep, as devoid of attractions as the remainder of the hall. Eagles seem to have been much in vogue in the early days and a favorite object of the carver's skill. An eagle, carved in the repair shop of the Atlantic Mills by B. D. Stevens, for some time occupied a position on the wall above the rostrum. It was purchased by the city in 1858 for $45, and $14 was expended for the bracket on which it rested. When the City Hall was remodelled in 1872 this eagle was placed on the front of the Garden street engine house wdiere it has since remained.

The audience hall was closed for repairs on June 25, 1872, and reoj^ened for public inspection on the following October 9th. To break up the space, add to the beauty and increase the seating capacity, galleries were placed on three sides of the remodelled hall, which were made architecturally beautiful with pilasters and heavy cornices in the Corinthian order of architecture, and the ceiling was handsomely frescoed. The original plan for remodelling the hall did not include a stage with scenery for theatrical performances, and there were those who questioned with puritanical prejudice the right of the city to spend money for such purpose. However, good sense prevailed, and all remains as then finished, except for the dust and stains consequent upon 45 years of constant use. The original seating capacity of the hall was Qoo. It now accommodates 1400. The original windows were so short that their tops would be hidden behind the sloping floor of the galleries, so it became necessary to lengthen them about four feet. It required a great deal of skill to make this renovation, but the work was successfully performed by Capt. Chadbourne, one of the city's skillful masons. The windows in the second story of the tower show the original height of those all around the building. New and improved stairways leading to the hall at the Appleton street entrance were added in 1877, at the same time the porch was built, and the entire corridor was wainscotted.

With the exception of lengthening the windows in the second story, the construction of the porch with the enclosed stone steps on Appleton street, which replaced in 1877 the pyramidal stone steps similar to those now leading up to the tower entrance on the Common street side, the construction of the stone steps at the westerly or Pemberton street entrance, which in 1881 replaced the old iron steps that were built in 1855, the exterior appearance of the building is the same as when first constructed.

The hall was used as a theatre for a number of years, and some of the most prominent actors and actresses of the country have played upon its stage. It has been used for about every possible kind of gathering, social and educational, political and religious. It is impossible to mention all the important events that have taken place within its walls or the uses to which the hall has been put. It has witnessed far more scenes of joy than sorrow, and the walls have echoed time and again the festal music of the dance and song. It has been the scene of the largest social events of the city since the time the hall was opened in December, 1849.

In recent years the demand for ofiice room has greatly outgrown the accommodations of the building, and, with the exception of practically the administrative officials, all the city departments have quarters in other buildings. In 1910 plans were drawn for remodelling the City Hall, so that all department heads might be located under one roof. It was proposed that the auditorium be abolished and that the Common street wall be carried out flush with the sidewalk. Thus would three floors be provided, besides a larger area to the floor. The scheme has been considered practical and satisfactory, but its execution has been held up for the want of money. Before a great while, however, it is expected that this extensive improvement will be made, if an entirely new building is not erected.

Filtration System And Water Works

For 25 years the inhabitants of Lawrence secured their water for domestic purposes largely from wells and cisterns. This was the principal source of supply until the present water works were established. From that time till the installation of the filtration system which was designed by Hiram F. Mills of the Essex Company, chairman of the committee on water supply and sewerage of the State Board of Health, the water from the river was used without any attempt at purification.

Prior to the building of the filter, typhoid fever made heavy inroads upon the inhabitants of Lawrence annually, but with its installation it developed that the disease germs could be removed, and the Merrimack River water made as harmless and healthful as the best sources of supply obtainable.

In recent years, however, the filtration facilities have been regarded as inadequate to meet present day requirements. The tremendous growth of Lawrence and the demand made upon the filtered supply has not only necessitated several enlargements upon the original plant, but at the present time the situation is such that a commission is engaged studying the possibilities of a future water supply, either by further extensions of the filtration system or by acquisition of an entirely new source of supply.

This commission, appointed in 1913, comprised Leonard E. Bennink, chairman; Attorney Augustine X. Dooley, secretary; Joseph McCarthy, Justin E. A'arney and Charles E. Bradley. The last named resigned in 1916 and J. Frank James was appointed in his place. Morris Knowles of Pittsburg, a former member of the Lawrence water board, was retained as consulting engineer to assist the commission in its investigation.

The first steps looking toward the providing of a water system for Lawrence were taken in 1848 when the "Lawrence Aqueduct Company" was chartered. John Tenney of Methuen, Alfred Kittredge of Haverhill and Daniel Saunders of Lawrence, with associates, formed the corporation. Their project of bringing water from Haggett's pond, now the source of supply for the town of Andover, was deemed impracticable. The authorized capital of the company was $50,000. The projectors based calculations upon the estimated use of eighteen gallons per day by each consumer. Experience showed

In 1 85 1 the Bay State mills and the Essex Company, sharing the cost, built a reservoir of 1,000,000 gallons capacity on Prospect Hill. Water, in this reservoir, raised from the canal by pumping through tested iron pipes, was kept on a level of about 152 feet above the crest of the Merrimack River dam. The property was owned and operated by associated corporations, forming the Lawrence Reservoir Associated, each company having its own system of distributing pipes.

For 24 years, pipes and hydrants in corporation yards and principal business streets were supplied from this reservoir. The common pond was also filled from this source. In 1871 and 1872 municipal water works were agitated, and in consefjuence of a petition signed by Henry Barton and 18 other citizens the citv council caused an investigation of the project to be made bv a special commission which recommended that the supply be taken from the Merrimack River.

An act passed by the legislature and signed by (^lOvernor William B. Washburn on March 8, 1872. provided for the appointment of three commissioners by the city council to execute, superintendent and direct work done by authority of the act or subsequent acts. Upon the approval of the act by the voters in May, 1872, a joint special committee on water supply was appointed in the tollowing June. This committee comprised : - James Payne and James A. Treat, aldermen ; Lorenzo D. Sargent, Henry J. Couch and George W. Russell from the common council. Alderman Payne was elected chairman, and L. Fred Rice of Boston was retained as consulting engineer. An exhaustive report was submitted and on April 18, 1873, an ordinance was passed providing for the election of a board of water commissioners. On the 8th of - ^xlay, William Barbour (chairman), Patrick Murphy (clerk), and i]\Iorris Knowles, father of the engineer now assisting in solving t^ie problem of a future water supi)ly for Lawrence, were elected. ' Walter F. McConnell served as chief, engineer and James P. Kirkwood of Brooklyn, N. Y., was consulting engineer.

The present pumping station and reservoir were constructed in 1874 - /^. On October 19, 1875, water was forced up into the reservoir for the first time. In 1893 the original filter was completed. This was the first municipal filtration system for the elimination of bacteria, established in the country. The water was turned on the bed in September of that year. It has an area of two and onehalf acres. In 1907 the capacity of the filtration system was increased by the construction of a covered filter west of the original bed. The water area of this is three-quarters of an acre.

Filtration System And Water Works 87

In 1916 work was started on the reconstruction of the east unit of the open filter. The original bed was divided into three units with separating walls in 1902. This reconstruction consisted of the laying of a concrete bottom and walls with piers which will support the roof later when it may be decided to cover this section. The work is intended to increase the capacity of the beds by excluding the iron from the ground water which found its way into the upper drains.

The reservoir has a capacity of 40,000,000 gallons, and the pumping capacity of the old Leavitt engine at the pumping station, for 24 hours, is 5,000,000 gallons each side, one side being operated at a time. A turbine engine with a pumping capacity of about 2,000,000 gallons in 24 hours and a Barr pump with a capacity of about 1,500,000 gallons a day are used in connection with the high service water tower on Tower hill, which regulates the flow on the hills and in the mercantile or so-called fire hazard district.

The high service water tower was built in 1896. It is 102 feet high and 30 feet in diameter. At 100 feet there is an 8-inch overflow pipe that conveys the overflow back into the reservoir. In case of the necessity of repairs on the enclosed stand-pipe the water can be pumped directly into the mains by a Ross pressure regulating valve. The capacity of the stand-pipe is 520,000 gallons.

The original cost of the water works was $1,363,000. The today, with the several improvements, is estimated to be $2,421,- 000. During the past several years, the department has been more than self-sustaining, there having been a surplus of receipts over expenditures.

The Fire Department

The first engine house, erected in the hmits of Lawrence, was a small one-story structure, w^ith large doors but minus windows in front, at the corner of Essex and Turnpike (Broadway) streets, on the site of the Brechin block. This was constructed shortly after the beginning of operations on the dam. In it was stored the hand engine "Essex", purchased by the Essex Company and manned by its employes for nearly three years, when it was sold to the town, and the building used for other purposes. The engine was transferred to a wooden building on ?\Iorton street, which was subsequently used as a fire station and is still standing. The structure was used until recently by one of the departments of the Industrial school, it having been remodelled and enlarged. This particular engine house was replaced bv what is now known as Engine 4's house at the corner of Lowell and Oxford streets.

In 1847 the town purchased two more hand engines, and two small wooden buildings were built for their storage. One of these was erected on Newbury street, but it was afterward removed to Garden street. In it Niagara 2 (first called "Rough and Ready") was housed. Later the building was sold and removed to L^nion street to be converted into a store and tenement. The other structure was erected on Elm street, between Lawrence and W bite streets, in which Svphon 3 was housed. Later it was removed to the southerly side of Oak street. In 1850 a fourth hand engine company was formed in South Lawrence under the name of the Tiger Fire Association. For its quarters a building, similar to the others, was erected at the corner of Turnpike and Crosby streets.

The site of the present fire department headquarters, or close to it, on Lowell street, has been marked by an engine house since the very early days of the department. The original fire station in this location stood on part of the site of the Central fire house. It was occupied by the Hook and Ladder, City Hose and Lawrence Protective companies, the last named being disbanded in 1853. In 1854 the building was removed to Amesbury street, in the rear of the First Baptist church, where it remained until 1864. Then it was removed to a lot near the corner of Concord and Franklin streets, when it was enlarged and used for fire purposes until the present brick fire house was erected there.

A Group Of Fire Houses

Prior to i860 none of the engine houses were provided with hose towers worthy to be termed such. They were occasionally heated by box stoves in cold weather, and were provided with small bell towers. The first hook and ladder truck purchased by the town was a crude affair of light construction, with a small number of ladders of medium length, a few hooks, axes and lanterns. The City Hose carriage was a two-wheel alTair, capable of carrying 500 feet of hose and manned by a company of 10 members. Later a five-wheel carriage was substituted, and its name was changed to Eagle Hose company which organization ceased to exist in 1870.

The construction of the first brick fire house, at the corner of Haverhill and White streets, long since known as the Old Battery building, was authorized in June, 1856. The following September the old wooden house on Oak street was sold, and hand engine 3's company moved into the new quarters. This house was later also occupied by the Bonney Light Battery which was organized in 1865, at the close of the Civil War, and named for ]>*Iayor Bonney. Hence the name of Old Battery bviilding. For many years the house has not been used by the fire department, and the Bonney Light Battery long ago went out of existence. The building is now used as a store-house by the Public Property department, besides being a polling place for Precinct 8. The old brick fire house at the corner of South Broadway and Crosby street, occupied by Engine No. 3 and Chemical No. 3, was built in 1869, and the one on Garden street, occupied by Engine No. 2, in 1 87 1. The old brick house at the corner of Franklin and Concord streets, occupied by Ladder No. 4, was constructed in 1876.

The newer houses, all of brick, were constructed as follows : Engine 4's, Oxford street, in 1910; Central fire station. Lowell street, in 1907; Combination 6's, Howard street, in 1896; Combination 7's, Park street, in 1896: Combination 8"s. Ames street, in 1900; Combination 9's; Bailey street, in 1908.

At the time of the Pemberton mill disaster, January 10, i860, the necessity for a more adequate system of fire protection was brought home with telling force, and the city government purchased the Pacific No. I from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Companv of ^lanchester, N. H., it being the fifteenth steam fire engine made by that concern. This steamer was placed in service in Lawrence on July 6, i860, and was first located in the Old Battery building. It was transferred to Lowell street when the former brick house there was built. After 11 years of regular service the old Pacific was set aside as a reserve steamer, and nine years later it was sold for one quarter of its original cost.

Atlantic No. 2 steam fire engine, built for the purpose of exhibiting it at the \\'orld's fair in London. England, in 1861, was purchased by the City of Lawrence on March 6, 1862, the inducements oft'ered for its shipment across the Atlantic not being regarded as sufficient. This steamer was temporarily located in the house on Lowell street, being later removed to Garden street. In June, 1862, the steamer known as Tiger 3 was purchased from the Amoskeag Company, and located in the house on South Broadway. Both these engines were replaced by larger and more modern types in 1889.

Essex 4 steam fire engine was secured by the city on September 24, 1864, and placed in the old fire house on Alorton street. In 1889 it was replaced by the steamer now in use at the new house of Engine 4 on Oxford street. Washington steam engine No. 5, now known as Engine 5, was purchased in 1870, and placed in service in April of the following year. This steamer responds to second alarms today. It is located at the Central fire station.

The Franklin hook and ladder truck at the Concord street house was secured on February 16, 1875. The double tank chemical at Engine 3's house was placed in service on jMarch 30, 1880. It was located at the Lowell street headquarters until 1886 when the protective wagon was installed there and the chemical engine removed to the South Broadway house. The aerial ladder truck at the Central fire station was purchased in 1889. The water tower, also located at the Lowell street headquarters, was secured in 1905. The various other pieces of ai:'])aratus have been provided as the need appeared.

Today the department equipment comprises 50 trained horses, four steamers, four hose wagons, four combination hose and chemical wagons, one protective wagon, one double tank chemical, four hook and ladder trucks, a water tower, chief's and deputy chief's wagons, besides nine supply and exercise wagons. The personnel includes a chief, deputy chief, 1 1 captains, nine lieutenants, 69 permanent men, 60 call men and 100 substitutes. There are nine engine houses, including the seven-run central station, one of the largest of its kind in the count r}-.