Worcester City (part 57 of 58)

Under the new dispensation a call was extended to Rev. William Belden to become the pastor of the united Church and Society, which was accepted by him, and he was installed January 22, 1868. His pastorate was brief, being terminated by his dismission, March 22, 1869. August 25th, the same year. Rev. John E. Wheeler, a native of Amherst, N. H., and a graduate of Amherst College, was clothed with the honors and assigned the duties of the same office. He remained but about three years, closing his labors early in July, 1872. The parish was without a minister for nearly two years, several attempts to obtain one proving ineffectual. At length, on the 15th of May, 1874, the parish united with the church in extending a call to Rev. AVm. D. Herrick, pastor of the First Parish and Church at the time of the consolidation seven years before, who, although he had declined a similar one made a few months previously, finally accepted. Mr. Herrick was installed the second time in Gardner, June 11, 1874, and entered at once upon an active and useful career in the church and community. After two or three years' service, however, his health began to give way, and he was obliged to curtail his labors and, after a time, to suspend them for a season altogether, in the hope that he might find complete restoration of his depleted energies and be able to resume his ministerial work with his old-time vigor and promise of success. But he only partially recovered, and on taking up his professional duties again found himself unequal to the task of performing them to his own satisfaction, and seeing no prospect of entire recovery, deemed it due to his people as well as to himself to profler his resignation. It was reluctantly accepted, and he closed his labors not long afterward. During his ministry he prepared, under directions from the town, an elaborate and detailed history of Gardner from the date of its incorporation, including a genealogical record of many of the principal families, which was published in a large volume of five hundred and thirty-five pages, in 1878.

During the same period the parish greatly improved its property and facilities for prosecuting the various departments of ministerial, church and parish work. In 1875 it erected a commodious and attractive parsonage, with stable and other conveniences attached, at an expense of about six thousand dollars. Early in the year 1878 the project of a new house of worship was started, which resulted in the completion, the year following, of the present spacious, well-arranged and well-equipped, imposing edifice, located at the head of the Common, very near, if not on the exact site, where the original town meeting-house was built. Until this was ready for occupancy, the church and society, subsequent to the union of the two parishes in 1867, had worshipped in the sanctuary of the Evangelical Congregational Parish, which stood on the east side of Green Street, fronting the Common. The present edifice is one of the finest pieces of church architecture in the northern part of Worcester County. It is of Gothic style, with steep, slated roof, and covers an area of sixty-four feet front, which is the width of the structure, and a length of one hundred and eighteen feet, having, at the southeast corner, a tower one hundred and twentyfive feet high, in which is a clock with four dials. The material is principally brick, with underpinning and steps of light-colored granite and brown sandstone trimmings. The building is lighted by stainedglass set in lead sashes, a large rose window adorning the front part. It has convenient entrances in front and at the sides, the latter leading to the main audience-room and to the chapel in the rear. There are six hundred sittings in the auditorium, all facing the preacher's platform and desk, at the right of which is the choir and organ-loft, and at the left a pastor's room. Nearer the walls there are ample passage-ways to the other parts of the building, where there are on the lower floor a spacious lectureroom, an infant classroom, library room and parlor, with a stairway to the second floor, where may be found a dining-room, kitchen, lavatory and all the modern improvements and conveniences. The whole is warmed by hot water and steam and lighted by electricity. The cost of the building, including organ and furnishings, was thirty thousand dollars, which amount was raised by the persevering efforts of Mrs. Henry Heywood and Mrs. Alvin M.Greenwood- The present pastor is Rev. Lawrence Phelps, who has served the church and society about five years. Everything betokens prosperity and usefulness.

The Evangelical Congregational Church AND Society. - As the history of the religious enterprise represented by this name is so closely interlinked with that of the First Parish and Church, it is noticed next to it in this review, although, chronologically considered, it would be assigned a later place in the list of the religious organizations of Gardner. The members of the First Parish who, as has been said, withdrew on account of marked theological differences in the year 1830, were legally organized on the 25th of June, the same year, under the title given at the head of this paragraph. A constitution was drawn up, approved and signed by fortyone male members, who were thus qualified for the transaction of business. Steps were at once taken toward the erection of a meeting-house, which was accordingly built and dedicated June 16, 1831. The church connected with this parish was instituted agreeably to Congregational usages August 11, 1830. Rev. Mr. Lincoln, who had been minister of the old church and society, withdrew with the seceding members and by previous arrangement was at once chosen minister of the new body. The same council which was called to formally dismiss him in ecclesiastical order from his former pastorate installed him in the later one the same day, August 11, 1830. In addition to the regular salary of four hundred dollars in money voted Mr. Lincoln for his services, he was granted " his choice of all the pews in the house for his use." He remained pastor of this church and society until February 23, 1842, when the relation was dissolved. Mr. Lincoln is still living in the enjoyment of a fair degree of bodily and mental vigor, his heart warm as ever towards all generous and noble things, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Although at the time of the division in the First Parish of Gardner he sympathized with and became the minister of the Trinitarian party, he yet subsequently entered the fellowship of the Unitarian denomination and has been for a long time one of its most devoted and honored clergymen.

The several pastors of the Evangelical Congregational Church and Society succeeding Mr. Lincoln were. Rev. AVm. B. Stone, settled February 23, 1842, and dismissed in August, 1850 ; Rev. D. C. Frost, who served as acting-pastor about two years ; Bev. Abijah Stowell the same for five years ; Rev. J. W. Healey, who was installed December 3, 1857, and was dismissed July 11, 1859; Rev. Samuel J. Austin, installed December 8, 1859, and dismissed in May, 1864. Subsequenfto this date there was no regular minister for about two years. Several persons had been favored with an invitation to the vacant place, but declined. At length Mr. George F. Stanton, of Lowell, a recent graduate of Bangor Theological Seminary, accepted a call extended to him, and was ordained to the work of the ministry and installed pastor of the church under notice, June 6, 1866, the sermon being preached by Rev. E. D. Foster, D.D., of Lowell. In the following May he retired in order to facilitate the union of this church and society with those represented by the First Parish, which was at that date accomplished. Thus, after an existence of thirtyseven years, this body was reunited to the lineal descendant of that from which it seceded, the changed theological attitude of the latter making this step possible without offence to the distinctive religious convictions of the members of either party.

It is a fact worthy of record and remembrance, that this Evangelical Church and Society, besides representing its own characteristic form of Christian faith, and doing the work incumbent upon it in its religious capacity, was, from the beginning, earnestly devoted to the reform movements of the age, maintaining a consistent and unequivocal position in their behalf, and displaying unusual fidelity, zeal and courage in the support and furtherance of the cause of temperance and of the abolition of American slavery.

The first meeting-house of this parish, built in 1831, was remodeled in 184(5, and finally supplanted by a new one, more favorably located and better suited to existing needs, which was dedicated May 8, 1856. This house was used by the parly erecting it until the union spoken of was eflected, and by the consolidated churches until the occupancy of their present place of worship.

The First Baptist Society and Church. - In the year 1827 a few individuals living in the village of South Gardner and vicinity, desirousof having better religious privileges than they had previously enjoyed, inaugurated measures for the formation of a new society in that part of the town. In a brief time the object aimed at was accomplished, the organization taking the name of The Baptist Society of Gardner, as an indication of the religious convictions and preferences of its members, who were encouraged in their eflbrts by the sympathy and co-operation of the Baptist Church and Society in Templeton. The original membership consisted of ten persons, among whom Messrs. Sullivan Jackson and George Scott occupied the most prominent position. The immediate object of the association was to raise money for the purpose of sustaining a meeting and supporting the preaching of the Gospel in South Gardner village. To more effectually promote this object, an auxiliary association, called the Parochial Society, which is still connected with the church, was legally instituted January 30, 1828, for the management of the business interests of the enterprise. Moneys were raised, and regular religious services were opened at once in the house of Mr. Jackson, and continued for several years. Other activities of church life were established, among them a Sabbath-school, which consisted, to begin with, of fourteen members. The movement, once fairly started, attracted public attention and increased in numbers and importance. The need of a house of public worship was soon recognized, and steps were taken to provide one. Money was raised and a building was erected in 1833, at a cost of three thousand dollars, which amply met the wants of the society for many years, and was used as first constructed, with slight improvements, till 1872, when it was much enlarged and greatly improved in many ways, at an expense of over seven thousand dollars. The audience-room \*a3 entirely remodeled and newly furnished, and a commodious vestry with ante-rooms in the basement, was fitted up. A new and graceful spire supplanted the former inartistic cupola or belfry, in which was placed an excellent clock for the convenience of the neighborhood. Ten years later, in 1882, a good pipe-organ was introduced and other improvements made, at an aggregate cost of three thousand dollars. At present the edifice is exteriorly neat and attractive, and also well-furnished and equipped within, rendering it admirably adapted to the uses of a living Christian body of believers.

The church connected with this society was established in the year 1830, when twenty-three members of the Baptist Church in Templeton, who resided in Gardner, withdrew from that organization by mutual consent and in the spirit of brotherly love, for the purpose of having church privileges nearer at hand, and of exerting a greater influence for good upon the public mind and heart. An ecclesiastical council convened at the house of Sullivan Jackson on the loth of November of that year, under whose authority the First Baptist Church in Gardner was organized, Mr. Jackson being chosen the first deacon. Its present deacons are Marcius A. Gates and Elmer L. Lovewell. The total number received into the church from the beginning is five hundred and forty, the present merabershi|) being one hundred and ninetyfive.

Fifteen pastors have served this church and society during the fifty-eight years since they were organized, the Kev. Robert F. Tolman being the present incumbent of that office. In addition to the Sabbath-school, whose fourteen original members have increased to three hundred and ninety-six, there are, as auxiliary agencies for interesting and benefiting those who may be reached and helped to the better life, and especially the children and youth, " The Band of Hope," " The Cheerful Workers," " The Young Ladies' Mission Circle " and " The Society of Christian Endeavor." It is proper to add that legacies left by Abijah M. Severy, Mrs. Susannah Stone and Mrs. Rebecca Greenwood, the benefits of which are now being shared by this church, are fully appreciated as assisting very substantially in maintaining " the preaching of a Gospel of Salvation, of Anti-Slavery, of Temptrance and of Peace."

Church of the Sacred Heart. - Who the pioneer Catholics were, or when they settled in Gardner, is involved in mystery. The most reliable information dates their coming in the year 1845. For many years they were few in number, and it was not till 1856 that the first Catholic service held in town took place in a grove west of Baker's Lane, Rev. Edward Turpin, of Fitchburg, officiating. Subsequently Mass was celebrated from time to time in private houses by |)riests from neighboring parishes. At length Bishop Fitzgerald, seeing the need of a clergyman to minister to the steadily increasing Catholic population of the northern part of Worcester County, sent feather Bannon to make his residence at Otter River, giving him jurisdiction over all the outlying districts north of Worcester and west of Fitchburg. Thither the Catholic people of Gardner went to attend divine worship until they became sufficiently numerous to warrant a separate service for themselves, when the town hall was secured for that purpose and used at stated intervals. Meantime the Catholic population grew apace, with which came a demand for more clergymen. Therefore, in 1872, Winchendon, Gardner and Ashburnham were set off as a new parish, and Rev. D. C. Moran was appointed to administer its affairs, with headquarters at Winchendon. Father Moran was a man of great executive ability, and threw himself at once into the woik of building up the spiritual interests of his people, and of putting the affairs of the parish into good working order. One of his first cares was to provide a suitable place of worship for his people in Gardner, who were adding to their numbers daily. He caused funds to be raised, selected and purchased a lot an Cross Street, and secured plans from Architect James Murphy, of Providence, R. I. In 1874 ground was broken, and before the end of the following year a handsome wooden structure of Gothic style, capable of seating six hundred people, was reared and dedicated to the service of God under the title of the " Sacred Heart of Jesus." Its total cost was about $26,000, and it was, at the time, the finest church edifice in town, a monument of which both pa.stor and people might be proud.

Gardner continued as a mission of Winchendon till 1880, when it was deemed able to maintain a resident pastor, and Rev. M. J. Murphy was placed in charge. Father Murphy soon became a great favorite. He took an active part in everything calculated to promote the best interests of the town, being a member of the School Board several years. He directed his efforts at the outset to a thorough organization of the parish, in order that his labors for the spiritual welfare of the people might be more efl'ective, and the beautiful ritual of the Catholic Church be carried out in all its splendor. Sodalities, literary and temperance societies were established, so that the old and young of both sexes might benefit by their good influence.

The erection of a parochial residence next claimed his attention. Funds were collected, and the present substantial and commodious house was completed. The grounds about the church were graded at the same time, and concrete walks were put in. Much praise is due Father Murphy for the good taste displayed in the laying out and care of the grounds, which made the site one of the most attractive spots in town. Not long after, the French Canadians, who had formed a large portion of the growing congregation, wishing to have a clergyman of their own nationality, who could speak their own language and enter more fully into their feelings and sympathies, expressed themselves to that effect. Their desire was favorably considered, and in 1884 they withdrew, organized a church by themselves, and had a pastor installed over them. The Sacred Heart Church went on enjoying an era of prosperity, when, lo! on the evening of May 28, 1887, flames were seen to issue from the church edifice, and in one short hour it was in ruins. Soon after this, Father Murphy was transferred to another field of labor, and Rev. J. F. McDermott was intrusted with the work of rebuilding the church. On assuming his duties, the scene of desolation which met his view might have disheartened a less intrepid spirit ; but nothing daunted, he threw all his energy into the task before him. Infusing into his people soniething of his own hope and confidence, they met his appeals for funds with a liberal response, while willing hands volunteered to clear away the dSris and make ready for a new structure. Architect P. W. Ford, of Boston, furnished plans therefor on the old lines, with a slight addition to the rear, which will not only improve the outward appearance of the building, but give a hundred more sittings in the main auditorium. Work was soon begun, and pushed forward with such vigor that the congregation were enabled, in the following January, to occupy a handsomely, finished basement, which has since served an a place of worship. The superstructure will be completed in the near future, and will surpass its predecessor both in beauty and design. Thus it will be seen that the Catholic Church has made wonderful progress in Gardner since the sowing of the little mustard-seed in 1845, which has grown to include in 1888 nearly half the population, numbering now about thirtyeight hundred souls, and destined, under favorable conditions, to keep abreast of the general advance of the town in years to come.

The Universallst Church. - In the year 1864, Rev. Jacob Baker, State missionary of the Universalist denomination, began holding religious services in Gardner, at which he preached with earnestness and emphasis the distinctive doctrines of the body represented by him. Those doctrines met with a hearty response in certain directions, and an effort was very soon made to bring together those who were in sympathy with them, and to provide for the regular and permanent advocacy of them in the community. On the 4th of June a society was organized pursuant to that effort, and a constitution was adopted for the orderly government of its affairs. One of its first acts was the api)ointment of a parish committee, who were subsequently instructed to secure, if possible, the services of Mr. Baker for half the time during the ensuing year. This purpose was carried out, and Mr. Baker's labors continued till the spring of 1867. Considerable interest having been awakened in the movement among the people of the town, and the society having increased its membershipproportionally.itwas deemed advisable, for the good of those concerned and to help on the cause, that a permanent minister be employed, and the Rev. Harrison Closson was called to that office with the understanding that he was to serve the

Gardner Society on alternate Sundays, the others being at his disposal to devote to the more general work of his profession, as opportunity oflTered. This plan was carried out for a year, when the financial condition of the society had so much improved as to warrant the engagement of Mr. Closson for the whole time. Soon after this was done, the minister, who was possessed of much religious fervor and zeal, was instrumental in establishing a church in connection with the society in accordance with New England usage, which was organized April 23, 1868, and publicly recognized with appropriate solemnities on the first Sunday in June following. This body was called " The Church of the Unity and Restoration," adopting a "Covenant'' which embodied in a general way the principles of the Universalist branch of the Christian church.

A year later, Mr. Closson, who had been thus far employed annually as the incumbent of the ministerial office, was installed as pastor of the church and congregation according to Universalist custom, the Rev. A. A. Miner, D. D., of Boston, preaching the sermon. Under the ministry of Mr. Closson the movement was greatly prospered for a time, though later there was some decline of interest occasioned by differences which grew out of the matter of a place of worship. Services had been held for several years in what was called "the bell meeting-house," which was the former house of the First Parish. But the time had come for a change, as was recognized by all. The old house must be repaired where it was, or moved to a new site and refitted, or a new house must be built. Failing of an agreement upon any one of these propositions, disaflection arose and the organization became much weakened. Mr. Closson left in 1871 and for three years there was no regular religious service. But at length new interest arose, and measures were taken to build a church edifice. Funds were raised to that end. Mr. Wm. S. Lynde, an influeutial member of the parish, gave an eligible site at the corner of Cross and Maple Streets and one thousand dollars in money, which revived the hearts of all engaged in the enterprise. The house was erected and dedicated on the 26th of May, 1874. Soon after. Rev. Royal T. Sawyer became pastor and remained three years. He was an earnest, able preacher and a faithful worker in and out of the pulpit, and the church and society grew and prospered. Rev. Ephraim A. Reed was his successor, who rendered good service to his people for about two years, when he left and was followed by Rev. Mr. Barber, who gave way to Rev. James Taylor, a devoted minister and an excellent man, honoring his calling and sharing the esteem and confidence of the public. He took charge of the pastorate in 1884 and remained about three years. Rev. H. W. Smith is the present pastor, who is laboring with energy and ability for the people of his charge and the building up of the " larger hope " in the hearts and lives of men. The pari-h has a pleasant place of worship, commodious and convenient, an efficient Sundayschool and various healthful activities tor the prosecution of its own distinctive work and for the promotion of " peace and good-will among men."

The Methodist Episcopal Church. - According to the records of the town clerk of Gardner, there were disciples of John Wesley and adherents of the so-called Methodist form of religious doctrine within its borders at an early period of its history. In the year 1797 Philip Wager, elder of a Methodist Society in Ashburnham, certified to the fact that Samuel Stone, of Gardner, "attended public worship" with that society and "contributed to the support of its ministry," which, under the provisions of a recently enacted law of the State, absolved him from the duty of paying a " ministerial tax " in his own town. In the following year a similar certificate was filed in reference to Mr. Simon Stone, also a resident of Gardner. It would seem, furthermore, from the same records, that in the year 1800 there actually existed in town a society of the same persuasion, of which one Henry Eames was public teacher, and Ebenezer Richardson and Samuel Sione were a standing committee. Further than this, touching this organization, nothing has come to light, and it is probable that it had but an ephemeral being, of which no account has been preserved.

During the first quarter of the present century a growing interest in the doctrines of Methodism prevailed in the north part of Worcester County, and what was called a "circuit" of preaching stations was established, extending through about a dozen towns, of which Gardner was one. It was known as the Ashburnham Circuit, that town having an established church, as others had not, and being the centre of operations.

In the year 1826 Rev. John E. Risley was the preacher of this circuit and Rev. John Lindsay presiding elder of the district under the auspices of which its activities were carried on. It is understood that about that date, religious services were held from time to time in the town, though so far as is known no attempt was made to found a church. Occasionally a preaching service would be held in a school-house or private re-idence by some itinerant, temporarily in the place, zealous in broadcasting the seed-grain of the Methodist faith. Finally, the town having grown considerably, and evincing signs of increasing prosperity. Rev. Wm. P. Blackraer, preacher in charge at East Templeton, seeing, as he thought, an opportunity for instituting a church representing his own conception of Christian truth, early in 1869 conducted a few meetings in the lower town hall. A good interest was awakened and a stated preacher was asked for, of the proper authorities, to enter aud occupy the newly-opened field. In response to the request, the New England Conference, which met at Lowell, March 24, 1869, appointed Mr.

Blackmer to take charge of the work already promisingly begun. He at once commenced his labors and prosecuted them with such success as that in July of the same year the Rev. Loranus Crowell, presiding elder of the Worcester District, formally organized a church with a membership of eighteen and aSundayschool of fifty persons, thus forming the nucleus of what has grown to be a large, active, useful branch of the religious brotherhood of Gardner.

In April, 1870, Rev. W. M, Hubbard was appointed to succeed Mr. Blackmer. During his administration of affairs a chapel was erected upon a site on West Street, donated for the purpose by Mr. Lewis H. Graham, which was dedicated September 14, 1870. Rev. Daniel Atkins followed Mr. Hubbard, who, at the end of a two years' pastorate, in 1875, reported ninety-nine members of the church and thirteen probationers. Rev. Seth C. Carey became pastor in 1875. The growth of the movement had been so great that larger accommodations for public worship and other departments of the general work were needed, and measures were started to meet the existing demand in that regard. A lot on Chestnut Street was procured, ground was broken September 20, 1876, a new edifice with a seating capacity for six hundred persons was built and dedicated August 9, 1877, Bishop R. S. Foster, of Boston, preaching the sermon. The cost of the building, with its various appointments for the use of a living, active body of Christian believers, was less than thirteen thousand dollars. At the close of Mr. Carey's ministry the church had one hundred and twenty-three members and thirtyfour probationers. Revs. W. D. Bridge, W. P. Ray, J. H. Tworabley and M. H. A. Evans have successively had charge of the field since Mr. Carey's retirement. Rev. E. P. King is the present pastor. Under wise and energetic administration all the interests of the church are well cared for and effectively promoted.

St. Paul's Episcopal Chuech. - The Episcopal services in Gardner are yet held under the auspicej of the Missionary Society of the Diocese of Ma8.sachusetts. There is, therefore, no organized parish. The first service ever held here was conducted by the Rev. J. S. Beers, the Diocesan Missionary of this State, on December 10, 1882, in the Lower Town Hall. After said service, the Holy Communion was celebrated at the house of David Parker, M.D. The following persons beside the Missionary partook : Dr. Parker, Mrs. L. D. Rose, Miss Kate Skein and Miss Sarah Muzzy (now Mrs. H. P. Upham).

The work was put into the form of an organized mission February 9, 1883, at a meeting in the Town Hall, presided over by Rev. W. R. Huntington, D.D., then of All Saints' Parish, Worcester, but now rector of Grace Church, New York City. The mission was named St. Paul's by the suggestion of Mr. Wm. Briggs, a gentleman interested in the movement, who so named it after St. Paul's, New Castle-on-the-Tyne,

England, v/here his father is buried. At its organization an Executive Committee were chosen, as follows : David Parker, M.D., Mr. Briggs, Jlrs. Geo. A. Ellis, George W. Black, J. W. Jefts, James H. Rose and Miss Kate Skein. Dr. Parker was elected senior warden ; Wra. Briggs, treasurer, and Mrs. G. A. Ellis, secretary. From February 9, 1883, services were led by different clergymen and lay-readers until July 16th, when the Rev. John C. Hewlett took charge by appointment of the Massachusetts Diocesan Missionary Board. After a time Mr. J. W. Jefts and Miss Skein resigned by reason of removal from town, and Messrs. M. Shumway and Frederick Conant were chosen to fill the vacancies. May 25, 1883, Miss Sarah Muzzy was added to the Executive Committee.

In the month of July, 1883, a Sunday-school was organized with the Rev. J. C. Hewlett, superintendent; Mr. Wm. Briggs, treasurer, and Mr. W. B. Ellis, librarian. Soon Mr. Ellis resigned, and Mr. Frank Allen succeeded him. The first person baptized was Mrs. Mary A. Van Benthuysen, by the Rev. J. S. Beers, in the Town Hall, April 15, 1883. The first confirmation service was held April 16, 1883, by the Rt. Rev. B. H. Paddock, D.D. Dr. David Parker and Mrs. Mary A. Van Benthuysen were then confirmed.

The Rev. J. C. Hewlett was in charge for about one year. He was followed July 22, 188-t, by the Rev. Thomas A. Hyde. During the pastorateof the latter the chapel on North Main Street, now occupied, was built. He continued in charge about one and three-fourths years. May 1, 1886, Rev. J. S. Lemon was appointed to follow the Rev. Mr. Hyde. The first marriage in town, by an Episcopal clergyman, was that of Mr. E. J. Rose and Miss Libbie E. Jacob, November 21, 1883, by Rev. J. C. Hewlett.

Tlie first serious loss met by the parish was the death of the senior warden, David Parker, M.D., May 8, 1886. The origin of the mission was largely due to his efforts, and was the realization of hopes indulged for over sixty years. He lived, however, only a short time to enjoy the services of his choice. . The next serious loss of the parish was the death of the general Diocesan Missionary, the Rev. J. S. Beers. At present, the Executive Committee consists of Messrs. William Briggs, G. W. Black, Frederick Conant, Alfred Wyman, Herbert Morse, George Glazier and Mrs. George A. Ellis. The Sunday-School superintendent is the pastor; the assistant superintendent and treasurer, Mr. Briggs; the secretary, Alexander Hamilton ; the librarian, William Kennedy. The organist and choir-leader is Mrs. A. A. Williams. The treasurer of the mission is Mr. G. W. Black. The parish has a pleasant place of worship worth more than six thousand dollars. There are about fifty communicants, Rev. J. S. Lemon still filling the office of pastor. With the exception of the French congregation, St. Paul's is the only church in West Gardner.

years after the close of the labors of Rev. AVilliam H. Fish as minister of the First Parish there was no distinctive Unitarian preaching in the town. At length, on the 27th of January, 188-1, the Rev. A. C. Nickerson, pastor of the First Church and Society in Templeton, to test the question of the existence in the community of sympathy with that form of Christian faith, held a service in the Lower Town Hall, the birth-place of several religious enterprises, with an attendance of thirty-five persons. A good degree of interest was manifested on the occasion and more was developed afterward, so that two months later, March 27th, a legal organization of a society was effected, the necessary papers having been drawn up and receiving many signatures. At a later date the tirst permanent officers were elected, as follows: Webster Cowec moderator; Edgar V. Reynolds, cleik ; Edwin A. Colby, M.D., treasurer; Orange F. Smith, collector; Orange F. Smith, Jonas R. Davis and Julian P. Dunn, parish committee. Before the expiration of the year, steps were taken in reference to a site for a church edifice which resulted in the purchase of a lot in the Central Village, at the corner of Elm and Cherry Streets, on which a house of worship was subsequently built.

From the time of the first meeting in January, 1884, until April, 188G,the movement was in charge of Rev. Mr. Nickerson, who supplied preaching regularly; the service being held in the afternoon for his accommodation. Upon his removal from Templeton, at the date named, it was deemed wise to have a resident pastor, who should devote his entire time to building up the enterprise and establishing it upon a permanent basis. After hearing several candidates the society, on the 19th of July, by a unanimous vote, instructed the Executive Committee " to extend a call to the Rev. Wm. C. Litchfield, of Berlin, to become our Pastor." The committee acted according to instructions, and the call was accepted. The regular labors of Mr. Litchfield began on the first Sunday in August, and on the 28th of October he was duly installed as the first pastor of the Unitarian Society of Gardner, Rev. Austin S. Garver, of Worcester, preaching the sermon.

The need of the society for a house of worship becoming more and more imperative, the effort to secure one was renewed and charged with fresh vigor and zeal. The necessary funds were soon pledged and the project was urged forward with commendable rapidity. On the 7th of May, 1887, ground was broken on the lot already bought, and on the evening of January 25, 1888, the building, which, with the exception of the basement, was finished and furnished suitably for church purposes, was dedicated with appropriate exercises, the sermon being delivered by Rev. Minot J. Savage, of Boston. It is a substantial structure, eighty feet by forty in measurement, built of brick with granite trimmings and having a circular tower of ample height at one of the front corners, through which entrance is gained to the main auditorium and parlor adjoining. These, when opened as they may be to form one audienceroom, will accommodate three hundred persons, constituting, with the furnishings and adornings, a neat, convenient and attractive place of religious service. The basement when completed will have pleasant, well-arranged and appropriate rooms for Sundayschool and other purposes. The society is slowly gaining in numbers, in public confidence, in efficiency of administration, in power of usefulness and in promise of future growth and prosperity. The congregation has more than doubled during the last two years; the Sunday-school, with a proportionate increase, is well organized and doing good service, and other activities are in successful operation. On the 1st of April, 1888, one hundred families were connected with the various departments of the institution.

The French Catholic Church. - Some twentyfive or thirty years ago the first installment of French Canadians came to Gardner seeking employment and a chance to better their worldly fortunes. The success attending their search induced others to follow them, and others still in constantly increasing ratio, until at the present time this element of the population numbers about eighteen hundred souls. At first, and for many years, these people contemplated only a temporary sojourn here, as was the case in other places, - one long enough to acquire a competency or what was deemed such, then going back to their native boroughs to enjoy it. But latterly they are more disposed to a permanent residence in their new homes, and a desire and purpose of becoming part and parcel of the community in which they dwell and of the American people, by naturalization and other processes of afliliation and coalescence, have become widely prevalent and are shaping their lives to new issues, in all social and civil respects.

These new-comers, by inheritance, education and conviction are, generally speaking. Catholics, and strongly committed to the faith and polity of the Papal Hierarchy. Very naturally, they at first attached themselves to the movement which ripened into the " Church of the Sacred Heart," becoming members with others of that church when it was finally established and domiciliated in the community. This relation continued till 1884, when, the congregation having greatly outgrown the accommodations of the church building, and the French members feeling that they were able to maintain a church of their own, which should have a minister of their own nationality, a separation of the two distinct elements of the church was effected, with the approval of all parties concerned, and the French Catholic Church was organized, the Rev. F. X. Soly being installed as pastor in November, 1884. The new parish first worshipped in the skating-rink, but soon built the structure now iu use on Nichols

Street, which is designed to serve its needs until a more commodious and substantial edifice can be erected, in the near future. In this building, which, with the grounds, cost about eight thousand dollars, besides the main auditorium, with a seating capacity for five hundred persons, there are rooms for a pastor's residence, schools, social and society meetings, etc., etc. After two years of faithful service, Father Soly, on account of failing health, resigned his pastorate, and was succeeded by the Rev. C. E. Bruuault, the present incumbent. Under his wise and prudent management the parish has flourished, and grown to be the leading one in town in respect to numbers. Various activities have been instituted for purposes of charity, and to promote the material, intellectual and moral welfare of the people, among which are St. John the Baptiste's Society, for mutual help, a temperance society for men and also one for buys, a literary club, a club for naturalization purposes, the League of the Sacred Heart, St. Ann's Society for married women and a Society of the Immaculate Conception for girls. Two day-schools are in operation, haviijg both French and English teachers, over which Father Brunault exercises a watchful supervision.

Chapter Cxv Relations To The State And Nation

The spirit of patriotism and of loyalty to those principles of civil and religious liberty which are embodied in the Declaration of Independence, and which underlie both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the American Republic, has from the beginning animated the hearts and actuated the lives of the sons and daughters of this representative New England town. If at any time it has seemed to slumber or grow cold, it would, on occasion, revive again, and burn and glow with renewed ardor and zeal, ready to meet bravely any emergency, to stand fast in any lot, and to endure any hardship or sacrifice for liberty's sake, to vindicate the honor of the old Bay State or to save the imperiled country.

Gardner was not incorporated until after the signing of the treaty of 1783, whereby the English colonies in America were acknowledged and declared by the mother country to be free and independent, - until the thunders of the Revolution had died away upon the air. Nevertheless, a goodly number of its early citizens had taken part in the great struggle, and had shared, with those better known to fame, the honors and rewards with which a h.ird-won but glorious victory had been crowned. Thirty-five of the early ciiizens of the town are known to have been connected with the Continental Army in one capacity or another.

or to have contributed by personal service in some difterent form to the mighty achievement which broke forever the bonds of colonial allegiance to despotic power, and it is more than probable that several others whose names are not found on any existing records belonged to the same triumphant patriotic category. The list of Revolutionary soldiers, as derived from trustworthy authorities, is as follown :

Several of these were commissioned officers, though it does not appear that any of them ro.'*e to a higher position than that of captain. Elisha Jackson had command of a company of minute-men raised by order of the Provincial Congress, and with those under him hurried away to Cambridge on receiving tidings of the battles of Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775. William Bickford and Josiah Wheeler had been soldiers in the French and Indian Wars. Ebenezer Bolton and David Foster were at the battle of Bunker Hill, the latter helping to carry the body of General .Joseph Warren from the field. Jonathan Bancroft, Benjamin Eaton, Reuben Haynes and Samuel Stone were at the taking of Burgoyne at Saratoga, October 17, 1777, the most important of all the victories of the seven years' contest.

It was about a year after the incorporation of the town that the general feelino; of unrest and disquietude in the central and western parts of Massachusetts arose, which ripened later into that episode in post-Revolutionary history denominated "Shays' Rebellion.'' The citizens of Gardner at the outset sympathized very fully with the prevailing dissatisfaction caused by excessive taxation, a depreciated currency, and other conditions of political and social life consequent upon a long and costly war, which, combined with the poverty of the masses of the people, made the public burdens " heavy indeed, and grievous to be borne." They therefore, with commendable heartiness and dispatch, responded to a call for a convention, to be held at Paxton on the 26lh of the following November, for the purpose of consulting upon the existing grievances, and of finding some way of relief from the disabilities and burdens to which all classes of the population were subject, and at a legal town-meeting chose Captain Samuel Kelton as delegate thereto, and instructed him in regard to his action at its sittings. It cannot be learned from the records that the delegate made any report of his mission, or of the doings of the convention, or that the town took any further action in the matter. It is but reasonable to suppose that the citizens, seeing to what extremes the master-spirits of that and kindred gatherings were inclined to go, and that there was violence and treason in the movement as it was manipulated, could not find it in their hearts to have anything more to do with it. Their sense of justice and of patriotic duty would not allow them, probably, to be parties to the bloody designs of the leading agitators, and so quietly allowed the whole subject to go by default, so far as they were concerned. By this course they fortunately escaped becoming involved 10 any extent in those measures which led speedily on to open insurrection or mad defiance of the State government, and which came to their tragic culmination at Springfield on the 25th of the following January, 1787, when five of the insurgents were killed by the United States troops stationed there, in an insane attempt to capture the arsenal of the Federal Government, and its military stores. The repulse of the assaulting party on that occasion virtually put an end to the whole wicked and foolhatdy aflfair.

Although the town, in its corporate capacity, appears to have been absolved from all complicity with the rebellion, yet there were several individuals who were so far implicated as to be required to go before a justice of the peace, take and subscribe to aa oath of allegiance to the State and National governments, and deliver up such fire-arms as might be in their possession. Certificates from magistrates attesting to the fact that at least three persons conformed to that requirement, and so may be judged guilty of some act of disloyalty in connection with the revolt, were received by the town clerk in the spring of 1787, and were copied in full into the records. The impartial historian, looking through the vista of more than a hundred years, sees some justification for the discontent which prevailed during the critical period under notice, even while pronouncing emphatic condemnation upon those violent, blood-thirsty spirits, who would not only have sacrificed human life to an indefinite extent to gain their ends, but imperiled all those precious interests which the recently-closed Kevolutionai-y War had been waged to secure.

The year 179-t was a year of great discontent and excitement throughout the entire country. There were various causes for this unfortunate state of the public mind. The trouble with the Indians of the great Northwest, the so-called Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania, which at one time assumed threatening proportions and called for the intervention of the general g )vernmeut, the complications growing out of the conduct of the minister of the new French Republic, and, perhaps, most of all, the growing feeling that England was not fulfilling the terms of the

Treaty of 1783 honestly and in good faith, arousing in many quarters a disposition to let loose upon her again the dogs of war - all these things served to unsettle the public mind and to jeopardize the public welfare. The wisdom and statesmanship of President Washington were taxed to the utmost to avert threatening ills and guide the Ship of State safely through the troubled waters to serener and safer seas. Pending eftbrts to secure by peaceful means and in quiet ways assumed-to-be-invaded rights, to allay popular disquietude and to promote public order and tranquillity, he deemed it wise and prudent to put the country in a state of defence and to prepare it for whatever emergency might arise. Measures were instituted to that end. State governments rallied to the support of the National authority, and seconded its methods and plans of action. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts issued a call to all the towns to raise certain quotas of men, who should be ready at the shortest notice for any service to which they might be called. Gardner responded with loyal good will. In town-meeting it was voted " to give a bounty of twenty shillings to men who should enlist, when they were called into service, and to make up their wages to ten dollars per month." A military company was formed, with William Bickford captain, which was kept under drill till the crisis was passed and the statute requiring its formation repealed.

Upon the issuing of the proclamation of war against Great Britain, in 1812, by President Madison, the people of Gardner were evidently largely in sympathy with the so-called Federal Party of the country, the members of which were disposed to regard the action of the Chief Magistrate with disfavor, and to look upon the conflict which such action was designed to inaugurate as not only unnecessary and unjustifiable on general principles of national polity, but as hostile to the best interests of the Kepublic. Under this prepossession, they were moved to join with their fellow citizens of other towns and localities in creating a movement or state of public sentiment which should have a tendency to terminate hostilities even before they had fairly opened, and avert the calamities which it was claimed by the Federalists would inevitably result from a continuance of the struggle. They accordingly sent Eev. Jonathan Osgood a delegate to a convention held at Worcester on the 12th day of August, only a few weeks after war was declared " to consult upon the alarming condition of our country " and " to petition the President of the United States to bring about a speedy and honorable peace with Great Britain. '

But the efforts of the opponents of the war were without avail. The national administration was fully committed to its declared policy, and was not to be dissuaded from its purpose to urge it forward with all possible vigor and efficiency. Seeing that there was no alternative in the matter, and deeming the cordial support of the regularly constituted govern- ment a token of loyalty to the nation, the citizens of Gardner, or at least a reputable proportion of them, responded to the call for enlistments in the public service. A company of militia was organized under the name of the Gardner Light Infantry, which was soon ordered to repair to South Boston for Ihe defence of the metropolis of New England against any possible attacks from British cruisers that were looking for vulnerable points all along the Atlantic coast, and there it remained on duty until the cessation of hostilities, early in 1815. The ofiicers of this company were: Ephraim Williams, captain; Samuel Sawin, lieutenant; Joel Cowee, ensign; Ebenezer Bolton, Charles Hoar, Benjamin Stone and Reuben Wheeler, sergeants. The organization was maintained for some twenty years, but, fortunately, there was no occasion for its being called again to swell the ranks of horrid war.

But there are duties which the patriotic citizen owes his country in times of peace as well as when commotion fills the air, and armed foes threaten the public welfare and the nation's life. And these the people of Gardner discharged with more or less of constancy and fidelity, according to personal conviction or party preference, for nearly half a century, little apprehending the fiery ordeal through which they were to be called to pass. But it came nevertheless, and they rose to meet it with wonderful unanimity and alacrity, - with characteristic and praiseworthy loyalty and zeal. When the mutterings of secession first arose, after the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States in the autumn of 1860, and when, in the following April, by the firing upon Fort Sumter, open and armed rebellion against both the constituted authority of the nation and the Republic itself in the interest and for the perpetuation of chattel slavery was inaugurated, they girded the loins of their strength about them, and, in the name of outraged justice and an insulted flag, they rallied to the support of the Federal Government, and furnished men and means to repel the domestic invader and suppress the unwarranted and traitorous revolt.

On the 30th of April, in response to the proclamation of the President declaring the existence of an armed rebellion in the slave holding States, and calling for seventy-five thousand volunteers to meet the rising foe and overthrow the conspiracy, a special town-meeting was held for the purpose of taking appropriate action in the way of meeting the demands of the crisis. At that meeting it was unanimously

Voted, That the Belectmen be and hereby are authorized to purchase, at the expense of the town, clothing or uniforms (suitable for wear in actual service) sufli-ictit for the members of a volunteer militia company, which may be raised by enlistment of the citizens or inhabitants of the town, and be organized agreeably to the laws of the Common. wealth, on or before the first day of June next. Provided, that said company shall pledge themselves to enter the service of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or of the government of the United States, to defend and sustain said government against the traitors and rebels, which now or may hereafter threaten its destruction, if called -for by the proper authority or authorities for that purpose at any time within one year from the date of the organization of said company. Also provided that, if an entire company cannot be raised in the town of Gardner, the selectmen are hereby authorized to furnish uniforms or clothing, as aforesaid, to such citizens or inhabitants of said town as shall enter the service of their country for the purpose aforesaid.

Voted, That the selectmen pay to the order of the several members of a militia company, which may be raised from the citizens of the town, or to the order of their families in their absence, the sum of one dollar per day, payable monthly, for three months from the commencement of actual service.

The same spirit which is manifeated in these initial votes of the town was displayed throughout the entire four years of the war, prompting corresponding action from time to time as the exigencies of the country required. In illustration of this fact, a few instances of what was done, and a few only, are here referred to. On the 23d of July it was " Voted, that the selectmen be and hereby are authorized to offer a bounty of one hundred dollars (in addition to the bounty now offered by government) for each and every volunteer who may enlist into the service of the United States on or before the fifteenth of August next as a part of the quota of forty men to be furnished by the town of Gardner under the late requisition of the Governor of Massachusetts, and that the sum of $4,200 be and hereby is appropriated by said town for the purpose of carrying the same into effect." A month later the same bounty was again voted, and the sum of six thousand dollars was appropriated accordingly. By vote of the town passed June 27, 1863, the selectmen were authorized to draw on the treasurer at their discretion for funds to render "the necessary aid to the families of those who have been or may be engaged in the military service of the United States." On the 4th of April, 1864, one hundred and twenty-five dollars was voted to " each recruit under the recent call of the President." Similar votes were passed at several successive dates during the remaining period of the conflict.

According to a carefully prepared list of the number of men sent by the town to aid in the suppression of the slave-holders' rebellion, there were two hundred and ninety -one in all, of whom one hundred and eighty-five, including half a dozen re-enlistments, were citizens or residents, the others being engaged from outside to fill the required quotas. Of those belonging to the place, seven were slain in battle, three died of wounds, seventeen were victims of various diseases incident to the fortunes of war, while a number of others, returning home, sunk slowly into their graves as the result of ailments contracted while connected with the army ; others, yet living, have been sufferers from maladies or disabilities incurred in the same way.

It has been estimated that the whole amount of money expended by the people of Gardner during the four years of the war, for the purpose of prosecuting it and carrying it to a successful issue in the complete suppression of the Rebellion, was sixty-two thousand two hundred and sixty-niue dollars, according to the following itemized statement:

This sura, according to the census of 1860, would be nearly twenty-four dollars to each man, woman and child in the town, or at the rate of almost six dollars a year, which may be regarded as the actual annual cost of the Rebellion to every inhabitant during its continuance. Aside from this vast expenditure, there has been paid what is called State Aid, which comes primarily and substantially from the citizens of Gardner, being included in the State tax. The amount of this at first was twenty -three hundred and twelve dollars, but has been reduced to about six hundred dollars a year. And this payment is to continue, though in constantly diminishing figures, as time goes on, indefinitely, or until the last man in Gardner who heard and answered his country's call during those years of her distress and threatened overthrow, 1861-65, shall have passed beyond the realm of all earthly conflicts and of all mortal needs, when it may be said of him :

Since the close of the war the citizens of Gardner have been content and happy in following the pursuits and fulfilling the obligations of their common every-day-life, in guarding and fostering their domestic and social interests, in providing for the general needs of the community, in giving encouragement to both private and public morality and piety, in promoting the growth and prosperity of the town, all of which things sustain definite relations to the national welfare, and in discharging the more quiet but highly iniportant duties of good citizenship in the spirit of true loyalty to those principles and institutions of civil and religious liberty which the republic properly regarded represents and was founded to maintain and perpetuate. Their patriotism, though it may not display and report itself in those more open and striking forms assumed in the time of the great uprising, is nevertheless, as may be believed and hoped, burning, a steady, never-dying flame, within their breasts, ready as of yore to respond to any call of the country for brave defenders in the hourof peril, should it come again, and for true and noble men and women always and forever, in whom alone, with the favor of God, is to be found its assurance of permanent prosperity and of unfading glory.

Chapter Cxvi Miscei,I.Aneous Topics

Gardner Water Works. - With the rapid growth of Gardner and the accompanying multiplication of wooden buildings in the more thickly populated districts, the need of some effective system of public water works, both as a protection in case of fire and as a means of domestic supply, became apparent to many of its leading citizens. After agitating somewhat the subject of providing for this need, a public meeting in the interest of the project was held March 10, 1880, at which S. L. Wiley, of Greenfield, president of the Wiley Construction Company, who was familiar with such enterprises and who had looked the ground over to some extent with a view to practical results, was present and made a statement in regard to the feasibility of the thing proposed and the probable cost, both of the works and the water as it might be furnished to consumers. His representation made so favorable an impression upon those who heard it that a town-meeting was called on the 28th of April, when, after considering the subject at some length, a commitee was chosen "to contract with any Company or Corporation for sixty or more hydrants for a term of year-i for the use of the town, and to authorize such Company or Corporation to lay water-pipes along or across any highway and make necessary excavations for the same." This committee, after due inquiry and deliberation, closed a contract with the Wiley Construction Company in the autumn of the same year, and in the following June the work of laying the mains was commenced and carried forward to completion four or five months afterward. During the succeeding winter, the reservoir on Glazier Hill was constructed, as was also the pumping-station at the southeast corner of Crystal Lake. At an adjourned annual town -meeting in 18S2 the committee reported their doin»;8 with the agreement made with the Consti'uc'.ion Company, which was as follows: "The Company are to put in sixty hydrants according to accompanying plans, and furnish water for extinguishing tires for twenty years, at the rate of sixty dollars for each and every hydrant per year, the town to have the privilege of putting in new hydrants at its own expense on lines of pipe already laid, without additional cost. If new lines of pipe are laid, the Company will put in new hydrants on the same terms as the original ones were furnished. All hydrants to be accepted by the town and warranted to be kept in good working order. The Company to supply all public buildings, fountains and watering-troughs, without cost to the town, and all private parties at rates not to exceed those established in the town of Athol. The control of the hydrants to be in the hands of the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department.

At the end of twenty years the Coinpaiiy agrees to sell to the town at a price determincil by three disinterested appraisers." This agreement was ratified by the town.

On the lOlh of April, 18S2, the Gardner Water Company was incorporate<l by act of the Legislature, and given the privilege of taking water from Crystal Lake, with the additional " right of eminent domain." The capital stock of the company was $100,- 000. S. L. Wiley was chosen president, and Volney W, Howe secretary and treasurer. The water was first let into the mains May 4th, and a trial of the hydrants took place May 1], 1882. Everything proving saiisfactory, the Gardner Water Company bought of the Wiley Construction Company all its interest in the undertaking, assuming all its stipulated obligations to the town. The cost of the works, to the present time, has been about $80,000. More than sixteen miles of .street pipes have been laid, witli seventy-four hydrants and six public watering-troughs attached. About one-third of the families in the town are accommodated by the works. School-liouses and engine-houses, as well as other public buildings, receive water free. About three hundred thousand gallons are used per day. The reservoir will contain live million gallons, and is supplied from Crystal Lake, the water of which is of superior quality and practically inexhaustible, by two compound, duplex, condensing pumping engines, made by the Deane Steam Pump Company, of Holyoke, which are capable of pumping four million gallons per day. Henry W. Conant is the present skillful and efficient superintendent of the works, and the officers of the company at thi.'i date are C. H. Green, of Northfield, president ; Volney W. Howe, secretary and treasurer.

Fire Department. - Few towns anywhere are better furnished with facilities for extinguishing fires than Gardner, and its immunity, in late years, from the devouring flame is worthy of note. Since the construction of the water-works, with more than seventy hydrants distributed through the densely-peopled sections of the town, it has been, under the efficient direction of the chief engineer of the Fire Department, comparatively easy to control a conflngration whenever one has broken out, and to prevent seriously disastrous results. The pressure in the mains is sufficient, at almost any point - except in close proximity to the reservoir - to throw water over the highest buildings, and the protection is therefore as perfect as possible from that source. The town has also four handengines, which are kept in good order and may be called into requisition in localities lying beyond the reach of the hydrants. Besides these, there are four hose-carriages and two hook-and-ladder trucks, for each of which there is a company of twenty men, with an ample amount of hose and other equipments equally complete. A patent life-saving apparatus is provided for cases of extreme danger. Two enginehouses, for the proper protection and care of the apparatus, are located in different parts of the town - one in South Gardner, built in 1880, for the erection of which $4,000 were appropriated, and one in the West Village, erected in 1883, at a cost of $5,000. There are also supplementary stations in the Town Hall building and at the depot. The department is thoroughly manned and under good discii)linc, and can be called into service at any point by a system of well-arranged signals at the shortest possible notice. The officers of the department for 1888 are : Chief Engineer, Charles N. Edgell ; Assistant Engineers, Benjamin T. Joslin, Dexter Gleason, Theodore W. Learned, Frank P. Cowan.

Stkeet Lighting. - It is but a few years since anything like a systematic method was attempted in the way of illuminating the streets of the different villages of the town by night. The records of the clerk show that small sums were voted to parties wlio should maintain street lamps in localities approved by the selectmen. More recently a gas company has been formed, under whose t-uperintendence pipes have been laid, posts erected and lights kept burning along the more frequented thoroughfares. The company was incorporated in the year 1888 with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, the officers being C. H. North, president; J. L. Robinson, treasurer ; T. King, secretary. The works and office are on Logan Street, with Charles A. Roebuck in charge as manager. Not to be behind the times in the matter of lighting streets, halls, ^hnps, stores and even private dwelling-", the Gardner Electric Light Company was also incorporated in the year 1888, with Koderic L. Bent, president, and Charles F. Richardson, secretary and treasurer. The capital is $15,000. AVorks have already been erected on Park Street, near Crystal Lake, illuminating stat'ons have been established and practical operations have been begun and are now going on. The machinery employed consists of one arc dynamo, capable of supporting fifty lights, and an incandescent dynamo with a, capacity of five hundred lights. The demand for the latter light is already so great thataseconddynamowill probably be put in at an early day. The machinery and ajipliances are from the manufactory of the Thomson-Houston Company, Boston. Mr. J. W. Thurber is the electrician and manager of the concern.

Public Buildings and Halls. - The principal public building in the place, besides the churches and school-houses, is the Town Hall Building, located in the Central Village, at what was formerly the very heart of the community. It is a wooden structure, built originally in ISGO at an expense of twenty-one thousand dollars. It is two stories high, with spacious basement and high pitched roof relieved by dormer windows. Its exterior walls are broken by buttresses which are surmounted by well-proportioned rootlets and pinnacles. The main hall is on the second floor, occupying with its various accompanying side-rooms the entire area, above which is a commo- dious, well- lighted aj^artnieiitusedasa Masonic lodgeruom. There is a small hall on the lower floor which is Used as a District Cuurl-room aud for smaller gatherings, also the central post-office and several stores. The edifice was greatly eulaiged aud improved in 1883, at an additional cost of twenty thousand dollars. The seating capacity of the principal hall is now twelve hundred. It is not only well adapted to ordinary gatherings, but is provided with an ample stage, sets of scenery aud other conveniences for dram .< tic representations.

Citizens' Hall is a spacious apartment on the second floor of the engine-house in South Gardner. In order to meet the need of some place for public gatherings in that part of the town, the residents of the neighborhood supplemented the appropriation made in 1881 for better accommodations for the Fire Department in that locality by voluntai-y contributions to the extent of about !?30(J0, thus securing an additional story to the structure proposed to be built, and the conveniences they desired. The hall is easily accessible and serves a most excellent purpose as a place for holding lectures, social parties and entertainments of whatsoever kind.

Besides these more public places of assembly, there are several belonging to or occupied by diflerent social and benevolent associations or orders - such as the Grand Army Hall, near the railroad stations; Odd Fellows' Hall, in West Gardner; and the Knights of Pythias Hall, in the Bank Building; Good Templars" Hall, on Chestnut Street; Unity Hall, near the Universalist Church; and still others owned by private p-irties, like Hager's Hall and Garland's Hall, in West Gardner.

Hotels. - The first hotels in the town were kept by John Glazier, on the spot and in the house where Wni. Austin now resides; Capt. Elisba Jackson, on Kendall Street, near the summit of the hill; and Jonathan Greenwood, oti High Street, near Minott. In these several localities was furnished entertainment for man and beast after the fa-hiou of those primeval times. Numerous taverns or public-houses of varying grades, during the more than a century intervening, have accommodated the travelers and other people with food, drink and lodging, at other points within the town limits, of which no record has been sought. At present there is no lack of such establishments in the community for the benefit of either the transient or the jjermanent guest. The most spacious and imposing of them all is the Windsor House, in the Central Village, owned by a syndicate of Gardner gentlemen and kept by 'Colby & Hartwell, who have recently taken the place of the former landlord, Mr. W. H. Barnes. The building was put up in 1882, on the site of the old " Central House," for many years neither an ornament nor an honor to the town in any sense, nor a blessing to the community. It is constructed of brick, with granite and brown-stone trimmings, having a frontage of eighty-three feet on Green Street, where is the main entrance, and of eighty-eight feet on Pearl Street. It is three stories above the basement, which is high and commodious and is arranged and fitted up with ample facilities for mercantile purposes. The superstructure contains nearly one hundred rooms, well-apportioned and elegantly furnished, and is provided with steam-heat, gas, electric bells and all the appointments of a first-class establishment.

The South Gardner Hotel is the oldest stand of the kind in town. It is located on the line of the first county road that was laid through the place aud of the Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike, and was probably erected and opened as a public-house about the time of the construction of that important thoroughfare in 1800. It has been greatly improved within a few years and adapted to the requirements of the present time.

The Gardner House is more favorably located to accommodate the traveling public than any other in the town, being directly opposite the Fitchhurg Railroad Station and central to several important business interests. It was first opened in 1881 by Mr. L. H. Hoi ton, of the South Gardner Hotel, who died not long after, leaving the property to his widow. She had charge of it for about two years and then sold it to Mr. Frank Rafl^erty, of Claremont, N. H., who enlarged the building and made it more convenient and attractive to guests. It is heated with steam and wellsupplied with modern improvements.

Richards" House, on Parker Street, near Vernon, formerly the Methodist Chapel, is a pleasant aud commodious place of public entertainment, dispensing a free and generous hospitality to its guests and ofl'ering special inducements to commercial travelers, by whom it is liberally patronized.

Citizens' House, on Parker Street, near West, presents a pleading and somewhat imposing external appearance, being three stories high above the basement, with a double piazza on three sides and other corresponding architectural features. It contains fortyfive rooms, besides a large hall, is heated by sieain and is furnished with due regard to both comfort aud beauty. The proprietor is Agnes Jacques, who is also manager.

The American House, the Crystal Lake Hotel and the Montreal House are hostelries of smaller proportionsand of less note, yet claiming their share of favor and patronage from the general public. -

Elegant Residences. - Gardner is honored and adorned with a goodly number of beautiful aud ornate private buildings - the homes of the better-conditioned class of its citizens, who, by the skill, care and good taste displayed in their dwellings and grounds, contribute not only to the general attractiveness of the place, but to the pleasure and happiness of all lovers of fair and comely things. Some of these, it is said, excel in architectural proportions, in artistic appointments, in chasteness and delicacy of ornamentation, in richness of color and perfection of fiuish, anything elsewhere in ihe county outside of the city of Worcester, while others, less elaborate, costly and perfect, are yet models of refined taste and elegance iu the line of art which they represent. Among these as worthy of special mention are the residences of Messrs. George and Henrj' Heywood, Alvin M. Greenwood, Philander Derby, Mrs. Fannie B. Heywood and Mrs. Ellen L. Pierce, while those of Seth Heywood, Roderic L. Bent, John A. Dunn, Charles D. Burrage, John D. Edgell and others are exceedingly pleasant and attractive.

The Centennial Celebration. - On the 27th of January, 1885, it being the year on which the town would complete a full century of its corporate existence, it was voted, at a legal meeting of its citizens, to celebrate the event with observances and exercises appropriate to so important and interesting an occasion, and the matter of providing ways and means for carrying this vote into efl'ect was entrusted to the charge of the selectmen. On the 2d of March, following, at the annual town-meeting, a large committee of citizens was chosen to advise and co-operate with the selectmen in arranging the details of the celebration and in making due provif^ion for the proper execution of whatever plans might be adopted in relation theieto. These parties addressed themselves to the duty assigned them with praiseworthy promptness, fidelity and zeal. The work in hand was wisely divided into numerous departments representing distinct and important interest?, and the proper subcommittees were chosen to have these departments in charge, so that nothing should be neglected or omitted which might be deemed necessary to make the proposed demonstration a grand success. Fifteen hundred dollars had been appropriated by the town to defray whatever expenses might be incurred, and private contributions increased the sum to an extent that left the Committee of Arrangements great liberty in the adoption of measures suited to the ends they were appointed to ])romote and secure. The result of their labors furnished ample evidence of the wisdom and efficiency of their management.

The exact day of the proposed anniversary was the 27th of June, and that was the time fixed upon for the event to take ])lace, preparations for which being made accordingly. But as it had been deemed advisable to unveil and dedicate the newly-erected soldiers' monument on the same day as a prominent and attractive feature of the occasion, it was decided, in order to have time for carrying out the full [)rogramme, which was considerably lengthened by this arrangement, that the oration and the more formal exercises accompanying it should be given in the town hall on the evening of the preceding day, June 20th. The hall was elaborately and splendidly decorated and at an early hour was filled with an intelligent, earnest and expectant audience. The Honorable John M. Moore, one of Gardner's best known and most respected

The following day was ushered in by a reveille at sunrise from the camp of Battery B, Massachusetts Artillery, located just outside the Central Village, and responding bugle-calls from the neighboring hilltops, followed by a salute of a hundred guns, the ringing of bells and the blowing of steam-whistlei. People were early astir, and as the morning advanced, crowds gathered from the adjoining towns and all the region round-about. The streets put on a holiday appearance, public and private buildings were profusely decorated with the national colors, an indefinite number and variety of tasteful designs, emblematic figures, mottoes and words of welcome and rejoicing. The Governor of the Commonwealth, His Excellency George D. Robinson and suite, with other distinguished guests, arrived about ten o'clock, being received with an appropriate salute, when the procession formed, and passing through the principal streets of the different villages of the town, ended its march at length at the immense tent in the rear of the residence of Charles W. Conant, where an excellent dinner was spread and enjoyed, and where the post-prandial exercises were held. On its way the procession halted at the square where the soldiers' monument stood, and where services appropriate to the unveiling and dedication of that tribute to patriotic virtue took place. The procession was nearly a mile long and moved to the strains of martial music floating from several well-trained bands through the air, lending exhilaration and enchantment to the scene.

After the dinner was over the president of the day assumed his proper place, and invited the Rev. James Taylor to offer prayer. He then introduced Geo. W. Cann, Esq., who was to serve as toast-ma-ter, and call out the speakers whom a large and eager audience was waiting to hear. "OurCommonwealth" was responded to by Governor Robinson in his usual happy style. Other well-selected sentiments opened the way for Col. W. S. B. Hopkins, of Worcester ; Hon. J. Q. A. Brackett, Speaker of the House of Representatives ; Hon. C- C. Coffin, the "Carleton" of the Boston Jovrnal; Philander Derby, an honored citizen of Gardner; Rev. W. D. Herrick, of Amherst; Rev. Wm. S. Heywood. of Boston, the orator of the day ; Harvey B. Whitney, of New Jersey, a native of the town ; Rev. Increase S. Lincoln, of Wilton, N. H., the second minister of Gardner, who had just passed the eighty-sixth year of his age, and Charles F.

Reed. The president closed the exercises witli a few well-chosen words. A dress par.ade on the Common by the local and visiting militia terminated the day's proceedings, and a grand illumination in the evening with fire-works, and concerts by Reeve's Band, of Providence, and the Fitchburg Band brought to a fitting end the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Gardner.

The Soldiers' Monumext. - Sometime in the year 1882 a committee consisting of John D. Edgell, Charles F. Reed and J. Warren Spring was chosen by the town to act with the selectmen in considering the matter of erecting some suitable testimonial in honor of the brave men of Gardner who, in the time of the great Rebellion, "died that the Republic might live." On the 3d of JIarch, 1884, that committee reported in favor of such action, and $5000 was appropriated for the purpose designated. Subsequently the parties to whom the responsibility of carrying the project into execution was assigned made a contract with the Smith Granite Co., of Westerly, R. I., for the erection of a monument of a certain specified design and height, at a cost of $5000, to be completed before the 27th of June, 1885, which action was communicated to the town at its annual meeting that year. The conditions of the contract were iulfiUed, and the ceremony of unveiling and dedicating the beautiful granite structure constituted, as before stated, a prominent part of the proceedings of Centennial Day. The exercises consisted of a prayer by Rev. F. B. Sleeper, a poem written for the occasion by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, and read by Comrade John D. Edgel!, a statement of the Monument Committee by Ezra O-sgood, chairman, and an address by Captain John F. Ashley, interspersed with appropriate songs and martial music. They enlisted the attention of a large auditory, and were received with manifest favor and enthusiasm. The monument is made of Westerly stone and is of fitting design, of excellent proportions, well-executed and finely finished. It consists of a square shaft resting on a pedestal having a solid base with substantial foundations, the whole being surmounted by a color-bearer in bronze, supporting a flag. Appropriate symbolic illustrations and inscriptions are cut upon its different sides, together with the names of the principal battles in which soldiers from the town were engaged. On the south or principal front, at the foot of the pedestal, in large, raised letters, is the word " Gardner," and beneath in three lines, " To her brave sons, who foughl'for the Union in the War of tlie Rebellion, 1861-1865."

Military Affair.s. - Mention has already been made of the volunteer military companies formed in response to calls of the United States Government in the troublous times of 1797 and thereafter, and upon the declaration of war with Great Britain in 1812, or in consequence thereof. For nearly twenty years after the disbanding of the latter of these there seems to have been no organization of the kind in town, although the military spirit was somewhat rife iu the general community, and military companies were popular in many localities. In 184-1 one was formed, however, with James Cooledge 2d as captain, and David Kendall, Joseph Wood and Hiram Wood as lieutenants, which bore the name of the Gardner Greys. But it did not meet with general favor from the public ; interest in it soon began to decline and it had but a brief existence. People began to think the time had come when men should " beat their swords into plough-shares and their spears into pruninghooks and learn war no more." But the Rebellion of 18G1 dispelled that illusion, and the citizens of Gardner rose to meet the exigency thrust upon them in a spirit becoming the sons of Revolutionary sires, as has been duly narrated in another chapter. The Rebellion over, the military spirit did not altogether pass away with it. Kept alive by memories of battle scenes and valorous deeds, or awakened by other influences, that spirit came to the surface again and put on an outward form of existence in 1884, when, on the 20th of May, the " Hey wood Guards " was chartered agreeably to the statutes of the State, and assigned a place in the volunteer militia of the Commonwealth, aa Company F, Second Regiment, with Solon T. Chamberlain captain, and Charles N. Edgell first lieutenant, who are still in command. In the same year the town appropriated five thousand dollars to build an armory for the new company, and chose a committee to superintend the work, which was completed in a few months. The building is a fairly good-sized one of some architectural pretensions, and stands on Elm Street near the railroad stations. The company is under good drill and maintains a respectable standing among its compatriot organizations.

The Town Poor. - Like most towns of the early times, Gardner availed itself of the privilege accorded it by the public statutes of "warning out" persons and families coming to settle within its borders without the consent of the authorities, whereby it was relieved of the responsibility of supporting them should they ever come to want. As a rule, most newcomers were thus treated, among whom may be found those who proved to be in after-years some of the most thrifty and honored citizens of the pl.ace. As to persons legally subject to the public charge, the policy generally prevailing years ago of letting them out to the lowest bidder to be cared for and supported, was at first adopted. The first case of this kind recorded is that of Oliver Upton and wife, with their children, early in 1789. Those having them were "to provide victuals and drink convenient for them and to take care of them." An effort was made the same year to have the town buy a farm with suitable buildings, and use it for the proper sustenance and shelter of those who had or might become public charges. But it did not succeed, and nothing was done in that direction for many years. The original policy of letting to the lowest bidder was continued as time went on until, out of considerations of kindness and humanity, the matter of proviiling lor the poor was Icit to the discretion of the selectmen. This course was pursued till 1849, when the Abram Stone place, in the northwest part of the town, wa? purchased, and, with its buildings, put in order for the proper care and maintenance of the unfortunate cla^*s under notice. Since that time thtxse desio;ned to bo benefited by such an establishment have been accommodated there. The farm contains two hundred and eighty-three acres, having a due proportion of wood, pasture and tillage lands, all in good condition. The house is large, convenient and, though old, is well suited to the purposes for which it is used. A new barn, seventy-two feet by forty, superseded the old one in 1872 at an expense of three thousand dollars. The present annual appropriation for the support of the \moT is six thousand dollars.

PiiiLANTHnoPY AND REFORM. - The people of Gardner have never been iiidifFercnt to the great hunianilary movements which more tluin ever before in the history of the world have characterized the century now drawing to its close. A long list of benevolent and reformatory activities to be found in the annals of the town proves this. It has already been said that the E\'angelical Congregational Church and Society from the beginning maintained an open, unqualified, consistent testimony against the evils of society and in favor of all enterprises calculated to elevate and improve mankind. No doubt this fact did much to mold public sentiment and create an interest in the community in all good causes and in all ])liilanthropic endeavors. But outside of that communion, there was a respectable number of those who, out of their own best convictions and emotions, were devoted to the welfare of their fellow-men, and counted it a duty and a joy to do what they could for the advancement of truth and righteousness in the world. The great temperance relbrjn has had from its very lieginning friends and champions ready to do they could to destroy one of the greatest evils that ever afflicted human society, to overcome one of the greatest of the foes of God and man. Soon after the question of temperance began to be agitated, in 1829, the Gardner Temperance Society was formed, with Rev. I. S. Lincoln as president, and later, to meet the new demands laid upon those who would do effectual service in this behalf - demands created by the increased light which had been thrown upon the nature and injurious effects of all kinds of intoxicating beverages^" The Washington Total Abstinence Society " was organized with Dr. David Parker as chairman and Thomas E. Glazier as secretary. At a still more recent date have "The Sons of Temperance" and the "Good Templars'' kept their respective ''Limps of Temper.mce" trimmed and burning, the rays of which might illumine some darkened mind or guide some lone wanderer into paths of sjfety and of peace. Aside from these outside and special activities, the several churches of the town have combined more or less of temperance influence and effort with their other work in these later years, and maintained a Gospel broad ennugh to include the principles of temperance among the " good tidings of great joy for all people." The cause, so far as it assumes organic form, is at juesent represented by a Lodge of Good Templars, a Prohibitory Club, two branches of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and perhaps other associations of which no report has come to hand.

As with the cau^e of temperance, so was it, in ils d.ay, with the question of anti-slavery. In the irrepressible conflict between liberty and tyranny which antedated the Rebellion by more than a generation and prepared the way for the triumph of the right in that bloody strife - a conflict which " tried men's souls'' as few things in American history ever did before, or ever will again - -the friends of the oppressed, the friends of impartial liberty were not a few, and they stood strong and fearless fir the right, coming up " to the help of the Lord against the mighty." And in the same spirit have other reforms and good causes, unpopular, perhaps but having the interests of justice and humanity in them, been fiistered, upheld and advanced by men and women of this goodly town.

Social and Benevolent Oeganizations. - Under this head are included those associations which, while partaking largely of the same spirit as the enterprises or causes just referred to, are more private in their nature and characler and more restricted in the sphere of their activity and influence. Of these, so popular at the present day and so numerous in the community at large, Gardner has its full share. Little more can be done than to catalogue them in these pages wiihout a detailed account of their objects, methods of operation, officers or present degree of prosperity and success. They are mentioned in a miscellaneous way with little regard to their relative importance or any other principle of orderly succession as follows: D. G. Farragut Post No. 116, G. A. R.; Women's Relief Corps; Sons of Veterans ; Hope Lodge of Free and Acccpteil Mas )ns ; William Ellison Lodge, No. 185, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Gardner Encampment, I. O. O. F. ; Gardner Lodge, Knights of Honor, No. 1582; Gardner Lodge, American Order of Uniied Workmen ; Achilles Lodge, Knights of Pythias, No. 48; Narragansett Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men, No. 48; Puritan Council, Royal Arcanum, No. JOIS; American Order of Hibernians, No. 0; American Legion of Honor; Crystal Lodge, Knights and Ladies of Honor, No. 1072; Gardner Cummandery, No. 347; United Order of the Golden Cross, Charles Sumner Camp, No. 37, Massachusetts Division Sons of Veterans, and others, perhaps, of which no record has been obtained.

equipped for service in their respective spheres of activity. No attempt is made to enumerate the many societies organized, under many different names, in connection with the several churches of Gardner, as agencies for aiding in the efficient prosecution of the recognized work of the church.

Banks. - The First National Bank of Gardner was establislied early in 186.5, receiving its charter on the 2.5th day of February, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, derived mostly from the citizens of the town. Mr. Amasa Bancroft was chosen first president and Mr. John D. Elgell, first cashier. In 1875 its capital was increased to one hundred and fifty tlinusand dollars, the amount of it at the present time. Marcli 27, 1S7G, Mr. Volney W. Howe was appointed assistant cashier. In 1872, Mr. Bancroft retired from the presidency and Mr. Charles Heywood was chosen his successor. At tlie death of Mr. Heywood, in 1882, Mr. John D. Edgell was promoted to the vacant position and Mr. V. W. Howe was made principal cashier. These persons serve in the places indicated at the present day. This bank has been under wise and prudent management from tlie beginning, building up for it an excellent reputation and securing for it the confidence and support of the business conmiunity. It has a surplus of thirty thousand dollars.

Tlie Gardner Savings Bank was established in 1808 and duly incorpor.ited for the transaction of business under the laws of the Commonwealth. Charles Heywood was the first president and John E>. Edgell, treasurer. This in-titution has been of great value to the financial interests of Ihe town, especially those of the middling classes, by whom it is largely patronized. It has had a fortunate experience and may be regarded as thoroughly sound and trustworthy. Its present president is Mr. Franklin Eaton and Mr. J. D. Edgell is still the treasurer. The amount of its deposits to date is one million and thirty-eight thousand dollars and its guarantee fund is thirty-eight thousand dollars.

Posr-OFFICES. - The first office for the reception and distribution of mail matter established in town was located in the village of South Gardner, that being on the great line of travel between Boston and the towns lying westward in the Connecticut Valley. Mr. Clement Jewett was the first postmaster. His successor was Moses Wood, who, having liusiness interests at the Centre, moved the office there. The people of the south part of the town were much dissatisfied, and petitioned the department at Washington f )r a new office. Their petition was granted, and Abijah 51. Severy was given the charge of it. He was succeeded by Lewis H. Bradford, Samuel S. Howe and S. W. A. Stevens, who received the appointment about the year 18-54. At the central office Mr. Wood was probably succeeded by Levi Heywood, C. Webster Bush and Miss Sarah E. Kichardsan, who has filled the position since 1873, to the entire satisfiiction of all interested and concerned. An office was established in the West Village some years since ; it is now in charge of Mr. Albert A. Upton.

Cemetpiries. - There are four of these cities of the dead within the liicits of the town - the old buryingground in the rear of the First Congregational Church, lying lietween Green, Heywood and Woodland Streets, w-hich was laid out about the time of the incorporation, and in which sleep the remains of nearly three generations of the earlier inhabitants; Green Bower Cemetery, off Union Street, South Gardnei» which is in control of an as-ociation organized in 1849, though it had been used previously to some extent for burials; Cry.stal Lake Cemetery, purchased " for a cemetery for the use of the town " in 1858, and occupying a beautiful site on the west side of the lake which gives it its name; and St. John's (Catholic) Cemetery, off West Street.

Police - The Police Department of the town consists of fourteen men, at the head of whom is Mr. Henry Carney, with headquarters in the basement of the Town Hall building.

Physiciaks. - The first medical practitioner was Joseph Boyden, who came to town early in its history from Sturbridge, married the daughter of Seth Heywood, followed his profession until about the time of the settlement of Rev. Jonathan O-sgood in 1791, when he left for Tamworth, N. H., where he spent the remainder of his days. He is said to have been a man of superior ability and of wide reputation. Dr. Boyden was succeeded by Mr. Osgood, who was not only a minister, but a physician of acknowledged skill, serving in that capacity for more than thirty years with a good degree of success and to the satisfaction of his patrons. The third physician of the town was Dr. Howard, whose stay was brief and of whom nothing further is known. In 1822 Horace Parker, M.D., from Westford, began the pr.actice of his profession in the place and continued till his health failed in 1829, when he returned to his old home, resigning his place to his brother David, who had studied with him and who had already practiced somewhat in the community. Dr. David Parker came to Gardner well-qualified for the duties of his calling and cordially endorsed by the highest medical authority in the Commonwealth. He early evinced unu-ual skill in the treatment of disease and endeared himself to the people of the town and vicinity, both by his success as a physician and by his kindness and sympathy in times of sickness, anxiety and bereavement. Had he given himself wholly to his chosen work he would have risen to a high and commanding position in the medical world. For nearly sixty years he lived in Gardner, was familiar w-ith its afl'airs and with the great mass of its people, attending to the duties of his profession almost to the last, and passing away at the advanced age of more than fourscore years in the spring of 1886. Others of the profession in town have been : Drs. Carpenter, Jew- ett, Harriman, Warner, Whittier, Sanborn and Sawyer, Sr. The present physicians are: Drs. R. F. Andrews, C. H. Bailey, E. A. Colby, J. E. Gallagher, G. W. Garland, J. R. Greenleaf, H. P. Grise, F. E.