History of Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
The history of Uxbridge, Massachusetts
, founded in 1727, may be divided into its prehistory, its colonial history and its modern industrial history. Uxbridge is located on the Massachusetts
-Rhode Island
state line, and became a center of the earliest industrialized region in the United States.
. Innovators left their mark on America's textile industry. It offers a glimpse of early America- Nipmuc lands, King Phillips War, colonial rule, the Great Awakening
, Quakers, and the American Revolution. Uxbridge is the geographic center of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
, the earliest industrialized region in the U.S. There are over 375 state or national historic sites here [needs citations], with an excellent variety of architectural styles. Military uniforms were manufactured here for over 100 years in several large mills. The first U.S. Air Force dress uniform, dubbed "Uxbridge Blue"
, was made here. In woman's history it claims America's first woman voter, Lydia Chapin Taft
.
The town was named after the Earl of Uxbridge, in Uxbridge
, England. The Taft family
, of England, settled in Mendon (originally called "Mendham"), in 1680, in a section that later became Uxbridge. The Tafts were founders of the town of Uxbridge and Robert Taft, II was on the first Board of Selectmen (town council). The Tafts were said 'locally' to be relatives of the Earl of Uxbridge (though this is not referenced in the appendix of Alfonso Taft's biography). Uxbridge, England, derived its name from a 7th century Anglo-Saxon tribe known as the "Wuxen", (Wuxen Bridge). Early settlers included the Aldriches, the Wheelocks, the Farnums, the Reeds, the Willards, and the Caprons. The Taft and Aldrich families, began from local immigrant ancestors, and went on to become influential in their new nation. Seth Reed was instrumental in adding "E Pluribus Unum
", from many, one, to all U.S. coins. President William Howard Taft
's grandfather was an Uxbridge native.
This town played early roles in public education, human rights, women's suffrage
, and public health
. In the 18th century, the town led [needs citation proving leadership] in public education, by establishing 13 district schools. By the late 20th century, the New York Times recognized Uxbridge, for education reform [needs citation]. Congregational and Quaker traditions emphasized human rights and abolition. Uxbridge was the home of six notable women including: 1) Lydia Chapin Taft, America's first legal colonial woman voter, 2) Deborah Sampson
, America's first woman soldier, 3) Abby Kelley Foster, a 19th century radical social reformer, 4) Alice Bridges
, a 1936 Olympic medalist, 5) Jeannine Oppewall
, a Hollywood film art Producer, and 6) Jacqueline Liebergott
, the first female President of Emerson College in Boston. In 1922, two years after women's suffrage, the Board of Selectmen defied the Massachusetts's Secretary of State, by appointing the first women jurors in this state. In 1775, the town voted against smallpox vaccination. Footnotes of "unique" public health progress dotted the town's later history. LDS apostle, Ezra Taft Benson
grew up here, married, had a child, and ran a local hotel.
, indigenous people, the Nipmuc, pronounced "Nip-Muck", and translated as "small pond people”, settled at Wacentug ("tribe that fished rich waters") and Shock-a-log ("burned place or dry fox place)". Nipmuck is also translated as "people of the fresh waters". The village of Wacentug was located in the plain between the Nipmuc, or "Kuttacuck river",("at the large (or principal) tidal river"), today known as the Blackstone River
, and the West River
at "Miscoe, ("the great hill)". The "Kittacuck" river was said to have been plentiful with Salmon
and Lamprey
in the pre-colonial and colonial time. Wacentug had about 50+ inhabitants by the mid-17th century. The Nipmuc were an Algonquian
tribe who had a highly developed agriculture. In this region of small lakes and rivers, they grew corn (maize), beans and squash, (the "three sisters"), had a graphite
mine (at Sturbridge
), and developed a written language. The tribe moved with the seasons, fishing and farming in the gently rolling hills, woodlands, and streams of what would become the heart of southern New England
. Nipmuc villages were typical of their Algonquian heritage. The Nipmuck nation people still live in the southern Worcester County area, especially near Grafton and Webster.
Missionary John Eliot
helped start Praying Indian
villages such as Wacentug. The Praying Indians were also visited by Rev. Gookin. "Un-official" European settlement of the area began in the 1640s. In 1659, The Massachusetts
General Court
granted early pioneers the rights to purchase land in the Nipmuck territory. In 1662, settlers from Braintree
and Weymouth
signed a deed with the Nipmuc chief "Great John" and bought Native
land, "8 miles2(13km)2 15 miles (24.1 km) W. of Medfield
" "for 24 pound Ster". Squinshepauke plantation became Mendon
in 1667. Robert Taft 1, reportedly, had first settled here in 1669. The settlement burned in King Philip's War
in 1675, and the first Massachusetts colonists were killed.
Here is a quote of the signing of the original deed for the Squinshepauk plantation which became the town of Mendon later in 1667.
Signed, sealed and delivered the day and year above written in the presenfe of John Eliot senior John Eliot junior Daniel Weld senior Great John set to his hand & seal and delivered the deed to Moses Payne & Peter Brackett this 8th day of September 1663 as witnesses William Allis, N"athauiel Brackett Anawassanauke Ills ^ Marke and A seale Quashaamiit, liis /C Marke and A seale Namsconont liis Q Marke and A seale Great John :^ his marke and A seale A Seale O and noe hand, source document: Metcalf, Annals of the History of Mendon, 1880.
When the war ended, resettlement followed in 1680, and more families moved westward and settled near Wacentug. Farmers cultivated fertile land in the intervals between its three rivers. The patriarch of the famous American Taft family
, Robert Taft I
, and the Aldriches settled here circa 1680. Settlers became increasingly anxious to have their own separate town, but the process took years.
The town of Uxbridge was finally incorporated in June 1727, and Farnum House
held the first town meeting
. One of the first official acts at the next annual Town Meeting
, was to appropriate fifteen gallons of 'ye good rum
for ye raising of ye meeting house'. The colonial town was an agrarian center, with a smattering of grist mills, distilleries, and iron works. The town was named for the Earl of Uxbridge, who was then a member of the "Privy Council" in England.
The first listing of officers of the town is as follows: the town moderator was Eddie Greene, the first listed selectman was Robert Taft, 2nd
, followed by Ebeneazer Read, Wooland Thompson, Lieutenant Joseph White and Edmund Rawson. Surveyors of Highways were Solomon Wood, James Keith, and John Emerson. The Constables were Thomas White and William Brown, Jr. "Tything men" were Joshua Whitney and Joseph Taft. Solomon Wood was the Treasurer. Fence viewers were John Cook and William Holbrook while "hog-reaves")[keepers of the peace involving swine], were Gershom Keith and Simeon Peck. The incorporated colonial township also included the jurisdiction of what is today the town of Northbridge
Reverend Nathan Webb
's church, the first church in Uxbridge, was the Colony's first new Congregational church
in the Great Awakening
period. Webb and his church played a prominent role in the colonial history of Uxbridge. Members of Nathan Webb's church would help to make history, including among others, Josiah
and Lydia Taft
, Captain Bezaleel Taft, Sr.
, Seth Reed, and Samuel Spring
. Uxbridge settlers, like Lieutenant John Read, and Captain Josiah Taft
, fought in the French and Indian Wars
. Captain Josiah Taft
's widow, Lydia Chapin Taft, voted to fund this war in 1756, a first step for women's suffrage
, legislated by the Uxbridge Town Meeting. Her estate paid the largest taxes in the town of Uxbridge. The town meeting minutes record her voting again in 1758, and 1765. She lived to see her son, Captain Bezaleel Taft, Sr.
, fight to defend the new United States in the War for independence. Lydia Chapin Taft died in 1778. Judge Henry Chapin
later wrote, in 1864, that by allowing the "widow Taft" to vote, the town followed the principal of "no taxation without representation
" and "Uxbridge may one day become famous in the history of women's suffrage Lyida's historic vote was 164 years before the XIXth Amendment in 1920 which allowed women in America to vote.
The little town's future as an industrial center was secure, with good quality bog iron
ore, three or more iron forges, and renewable energy
from the Mumford
, West
, and Blackstone
rivers.
Quaker
abolitionists, with ties to Moses Brown
, who founded Brown University
, settled here. Local families, such as Moses Farnum
, also settled at the Quaker colony in the southern outskirts of Uxbridge, along what is today Massachusetts Route 146A. The "Quaker City" settlement changed the character of the town. The Quakers built mills, railroads, houses
, tools and Conestoga wagon
wheels. Southwick's store housed Uxbridge's "Social and Instructive Library", established in 1775.
Friends Meetinghouse
, built on Moses Farnum
's farm, with bricks made from a local brickyard, claimed "fiery abolitionist" Abby Kelley Foster. Kelley Foster became a national figure in the radical wing of the abolitionist movement, leading Lucy Stone
and Susan B. Anthony
into the cause. The Second Great Awakening
touched Quakers, women's suffrage
, human rights, and changed local mortuary practices for the poor. The "Uxbridge monthly meeting" later disowned Kelley because of her "radical views". Historic
Quaker homes
were Underground Railroad
sites at least from the time period of Abby Kelley Foster. Abby Kelley, at Dutchess County New York, would later write to a friend, "our cause is steady onward".
The influential American Aldrich family got its start here, and the village of Aldrich was next to Friend's Meeting House. The family's cemetery, near the corner of Glendale Road and Aldrich Street
is where the immigrant ancestor, George Aldrich, is said to have been re-buried, circa 1682. Quaker families, including Elisha Southwick
, built Conestoga wagon wheels and made Kentucky
Blue Jeans
in the 19th century.
Agriculture was prominent in Quaker City and south Uxbridge, with fertile land, scenic rivers, and cranberry bogs. Benedict Arnold
's widow, Peggy Shippen
, a Philadelphia heiress and a Quaker, settled in Uxbridge before she died in 1836.
and Joseph Read
joined local Committees of Correspondence
by July of 1774. Colonel John Spring led a Massachusetts Militia
training company
of Uxbridge men who prepared for the battle. Dozens of local men fought at the Lexington alarm
and at Bunker Hill
. Lt. Col. Seth Read fought at Bunker Hill under Colonel John Patterson. General George Washington
stopped at a tavern owned by Colonel Seth Read in June 1775 before assuming command of the Continental Army
in Boston. Colonels Seth Read, J. Read, Spring, Tyler, Chapin, Captains Green, Bezaleel Taft
, Hall
, Rawson, and Lieutenants Wheelock
, J. Taft, Farnum, and White served with several companies of local heroes
. Baxter Hall
, an 18 year old Battle of Lexington drummer, served at Bunker Hill
and at West Point
when General Benedict Arnold
escaped. Samuel Spring
, a native of Uxbridge, trained under Rev. Nathan Webb
, and at Princeton College, and became a Revolutionary War chaplain commissioned in the militia at the Siege of Boston
. Rev. Spring then served under Colonel Benedict Arnold
, in the invasion of Canada
, while Lt. Colonel Seth Read served in a separate regiment, under Colonel John Paterson. Samuel carried Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr
, his Princeton classmate, off of separate battlefields. Samuel, "a fundamentalist Congregationalist", went on to be a renowned clergyman in Newburyport, with published works, and a founder of the Massachusetts Missionary Society.
Dozens of soldiers from Uxbridge served in the American Revolution, mostly as Massachusetts militiamen. The most prominently represented families were the Tafts, and the Wheelocks. Over a dozen Tafts fought in the war, and at least 4 Wheelock soldiers were from Uxbridge including Lt. Simeon, Paul, and two named Luther Wheelock.
Deborah Sampson
, America's first woman soldier, enlisted in the Continental Army at Bellingham
as "Robert Shurtlieff of Uxbridge" by convincing the Uxbridge sergeant that she was a teenage boy. She was assigned to the unit under Noah Taft and wounded in battle at Tarrytown, New York
. After being wounded, Deborah served with General John Patterson, who Seth Read had served under. General George Washington gave her an honorable discharge, some money and some advice. Deborah went on to become a women's rights hero.
Shays' Rebellion
, an uprising of farmers related to currency disarray, had its opening salvos in Uxbridge on Feb. 3, 1783. Gov. John Hancock
suppressed local riots, after a request by Colonel Nathan Tyler of Uxbridge. Lieutenant Simeon Wheelock
, whose family became local textile pioneers, died at Springfield
near the Armory
when he was killed by a horse. Shays' Rebellion so alarmed George Washington
that he emerged from retirement in 1786 and 1787 to advocate a stronger national government. Dr. Samuel Willard
, (who reportedly held slaves prior to 1783), fought in Shays' Rebellion and represented Uxbridge in Massachusetts
's ratification
of the U.S. Constitution. Massachusetts was the first state to outlaw slavery in 1783, (with Seth Reed representing the town, and Governor John Hancock signing the legislation).
As the Revolutionary war came to a close, Seth Read
, whose father John had been an officer in the French and Indian War
, served in the Massachusetts legislature. This was the time of great turmoil of currency following the Revolution. In March of 1786, Reed petitioned both houses of the legislature, to mint Massachusetts coins, both copper and silver. The legislature concurred. Seth Reed somehow became instrumental in adding E pluribus unum
("Out of Many, One,") to U.S. coins. Massachusetts "coppers" were among the first coins ever minted in the United States. E Pluribus Unum is now considered the "traditional motto" of the United States.
In 1789, President Washington, on his inaugural tour of New England, from Boston to the capitol at New York City, made his first overnight stop in Uxbridge. The President had just been refused lodging at what he believed was an Inn in Uxbridge, Mass. but the Amidon Inn, was in fact at Mendon. He traveled further to North Uxbridge, to stay at the home of former Revolutionary War soldier Samuel Taft
, and later wrote his hosts to thank them, and sent them gifts, including "chintz", and it's part of our history.
had the first American taxpayer funded school in 1643, and the Wheelock family's ancestor, Rev. Ralph Wheelock was its first teacher. Uxbridge's first library was established in 1775, and its first grammar school was opened in 1788. In 1797, the town of Uxbridge appropriated $2,000 and opened 13 district schools, one for each village and section of town. The Ironstone School, now home to the South Uxbridge Community Association, located on Ironstone Street; the Elmdale School, now the Oddfellows Hall; and the Happy Hollow School, now located on Carney Street, are each examples of the former one-room district schools. The Uxbridge Academy
was a sought after New England
prep school between 1818 and 1851 with an outstanding educator, Joshua Mason Macomber
.
In 1797, Uxbridge appropriated two thousand dollars to erecting or creating the following 13 District schools:
was a prestigious New England
preparatory institution in the early 19th century which graduated a number of prominent citizens. Among them were Marcus Spring
, Colonel John Capron
, Moses Taft
, George Boardman Boomer, and Richard Sayles
. Famous Historian and writer, William Augustus Mowry
wrote a historical sketch about Uxbridge Academy. Joshua Mason Macomber
, A.M., M.D., was the principal of Uxbridge Academy from 1840–1850. This was said to be the "Palmy" period of the academy under the direction of this successful educator. The Uxbridge Academy developed a widespread reputation and during his tenure attracted hundreds of students from communities in at least six states. The building that housed Uxbridge Academy still stands on the Town Common in Uxbridge, Massachusetts
. The Uxbridge academy began in 1818 as a secondary school in an upstairs location. Today the Uxbridge Academy is still occupied by the local Solomon's Temple Lodge.
On December 10, 1818, a small group of 16 men got together and met at Spring’s Hall Tavern in North Uxbridge, which was located at the north end of Rivulet St, and called the first meeting of Solomon's Temple Lodge of Masons. Each of these men professed a true faith in a higher being and gathered in brotherhood, and called to order the first meeting of Solomon’s Temple Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. Masonry was already a solid establishment in Massachusetts, having previously receiving a charter from the Grand Lodge of England in 1733. The first meeting was held on that very day and meetings continue to this day. As the records of the lodge indicate, the first order of business was to find a meeting place that they could call their own. On June 3, 1819, the brethren voted to erect its own hall noting that the area North of the town common would be a suitable place. In conjunction with the town, the building was raised with the second floor being used for Masonic purposes and the first floor being used as a private schoolhouse. This building would be known as the “Academy Building.” The Lodge was the first to make use of the building with 29 members present on November 25, 1819. The Lodge has met in this very building ever since, a record purported to be unmatched by any other Masonic Lodge in Massachusetts. Abiding by its vows to charity, the Lodge allowed the hall to be used by several religious and fraternal organizations, including the First Congregational Society in 1835, The Uxbridge Lodge of Odd Fellows in 1847, the Sons of Temperance in 1860, Court Purity in 1891, and Rathbobone Lodge, Knights of Pythias in 1898. Thus began a long line of charitable works performed by the Lodge that passed down through the years.
and his sons built the first bridge across the Blackstone River
in 1709. The Middle Post Road, set down by Ben Franklin as the 9th Massachusetts turnpike, began locally around "Colonel Crown's land" and meandered past rocky Yankee
farms and woods, as it carried French and Indian War
troops, Revolutionary war regiments, and their Commander in Chief, 1812 War
supplies, and passed a Civil War
camp near "Stage Coach Hill". Taverns along the middle post road here included the Wood Tavern, at Rice City, the Spring Tavern and the Taft Tavern at North Uxbridge, and the Thayer Tavern, near East Douglas. Today the old east-west Middle Post Road is known locally as Hartford Avenue.
When production from the mills began, "teamsters" drove huge wagons, pulled by "teams" of horses, on the "Great Road" south to Woonsocket
and Providence, and north along Main St. to Worcester. The Great Road was the main stage route from Worcester to Providence.
John Brown, a Providence, Rhode Island
merchant, first attempted to build a canal along the Blackstone River in 1796. However, it was General Edward Carrington, a prominent Providence merchant, who later succeeded and built the Blackstone canal. The new canal on the Blackstone would become the second U.S. barge canal, following the Erie Canal
in upstate New York. The commercial ties between Uxbridge and Providence were historically strong. Beginning in 1824, Irish laborers who had just completed the Erie Canal, arrived here, and built the 46 miles (74 km) Blackstone Canal
. The barge canal had parallel tow paths for horses, and carried thousands of tons of goods yearly from Worcester to Providence, beginning in 1828. The canal boat trip from Worcester to Providence, took two days, and Uxbridge was the overnight stopping point. The first of the canal's many barges was named for General Carrignton's wife, "The Lady Carrington".
The Providence and Worcester Railroad
was completed in 1847 and the canal ceased operations in 1848. The New York and New England Railroad
, Willimantic division, ran through Ironstone
with connections to Hartford
, Boston, and New York City.
An early 20th century electric Trolley
ran through Uxbridge to Whitinsville
and Woonsocket
, and the old trolley bridge remains today.
A World War II US Army Air Corps B-24 Liberator
crashed on an Uxbridge hillside on May 18, 1944, known as the "May Day, May Day" crash site. The crash site is less than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Uxbridge mill, which three years later, developed the first US Air Force dress Uniform, a.k.a. "Uxbridge Blue".
Public health history began locally when smallpox
, killed Nipmuc, settlers, and soldiers in Colonel Seth Read
's regiment. Uxbridge voted against smallpox vaccine in a 1775 town meeting
. Colonel Read, who was not "variolated", became very ill in the invasion of Canada
. His unit suffered from smallpox and starvation forcing him to leave the Continental Army
in 1776. Benjamin Rush
advised, and George Washington
ordered, the Continental Army to be vaccinated by "variolation". Dr. Samuel Willard
treated local smallpox victims. Footnotes of public health history dotted the town's later history.
Uxbridge published the first 123 years of the town's vital records, through 1850, recording ages, genders, names, and some causes of death. The death of "Benedict Anrold's widow" is recorded here in 1836. Premature, and accidental deaths were common. Infant mortality was high, with children not survinng infancy or dying of childhood diseases. Infection related deaths included "Quincy", smallpox, "dysentary", and tuberculosis. Local selectman Joseph Richardson died of smallpox in 1825 Senator Bezaleel Taft, Jr.
, (who was married to Samuel Spring
's daughter), and textile pioneer Daniel Day
, both died of tuberculosis
, "consumption", in the 1840s.
In December 1885, Leonard White (physician)
published a report, on the deaths of two children, two weeks after "vaccination" by an unknonwn practitioner. An 1896 Uxbridge malaria outbreak prompted health officer, Dr. White, to write a report to the State Board of Health, which led to study of mosquito-malaria links, and the first efforts for malaria prevention. State pathologist Theobald Smith, warned White about possible mosquito
-malaria
links. Smith asked that White's son collect mosquito specimens for further analysis, and that citizens 1) add screens to windows, and 2) drain collections of water. In the 20th century, the local board of health assured childhood immunizations, and school health, including polio vaccines.
was a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. Large scale industrial development began at Uxbridge as early as 1775. Richard Mowry, an Uxbridge farmer, built and marketed equipment to manufacture woolen, linen or cotton cloth, around the time of the Revolution. Uxbridge, an early mill town, had industries, gristmill
s, sawmill
s, forges, distilleries, and more than 20 local textile mills. In 1855, 560 local workers made 2.5 million yards of cloth. Entrepreneurs here innovated the first power loom
s for woolens, satinet
, wool
-nylon serge, and other wool synthetic blends, 'wash and wear' fabrics, and latch hook yarn kits. Local factories further refined manufacturing processes and efficiencies which kept textiles alive and thriving, well beyond the great depression period.
Nearly every section of town had its own mill village, complete with mills, shops, housing, farms, and baseball leagues. Hecla was home to the Polish
immigrants, Linwood to the French Canadian
s, and North Uxbridge to the Italian immigrants. Uxbridge Center was the main village nestled between Independence, Prospect and Liberty hills. The Uxbridge Academy
and "the Town common" were centerpieces of this central village. The village of Uxbridge attracted Irish immigrants who had worked on the canal. Water power from the Mumford River became the lifeblood of the Center's early industrialization. In 1832, 60 years after Rev. Nathan Webb's death, famous American hymn-writer Lowell Mason
, came here and wrote the classical hymn tune
"Uxbridge".
Seth Reed's 1777 gristmill at Uxbridge Center served in the 1880s as a gun factory known as "Bay State Arms". John Capron
's first ever power loom
s for woolens made the first cashmere
satinets in America beginning in 1820. Ironstone
village, in south Uxbridge, had Benjamin Taft's 1734 forge
which let Caleb Handy make tools, scythes and guns. William Arnold's 1815 mill Ironstone mill housing remains there today. The village of Hecla had American Woolen, Daniel Day
's 1810 woolen mill, and Hilena Lowell
's shoe factory. At Wheelockville, the Waucantuck Mill
manufactured the first "wash and wear" fabrics. Calumet's (Central Woolen
) ran 24/7 making Civil War
cloth.
North Uxbridge was home to Richard Sayle's Rivulet Mill
. and to Clapp's 1810 Cotton Mill. Blanchard's granite quarry, rebuilt Boston after the Great Fire of 1872
and provided New York City with curbs, as well as stones at the base of the Statue of Liberty
. Nearby Linwood
has a beautiful 1866 Victorian style cotton mill, built by James Whitin
. Rogerson's village historic district boasts Robert Rogerson
's Crown and Eagle Cotton Mill
, considered a masterpiece of early industrial architecture. Today the Crown and Eagle serves as senior housing. Dutch
immigrants revitalized large old farms for dairy and corn production in the early 20th century.
John Capron
's original mill, downstream in Uxbridge, grew under the leadership of Charles Arthur Root of Uxbridge, and Edward Bachman of New York City, into a large textile complex, the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, with thirteen plants nationwide in four states with over 6,000 workers. It was locally instrumental in the manufacture of military uniforms and clothing, and also reached the top in the women's fashion industry. A 1953 Time Magazine article said the mill
, now under the leadership of Charles Root's son-in-law, Harold Walter
, the Bachman-Uxbridge Worsted Company, led New England's textile industry by research into blended fabrics and wool-nylon "serge". Civil War
, World War I, World War II Army
and nurse corps
uniforms, the first Air Force uniform, "Uxbridge 1683 Blue", and "latch hook kits
" were made here. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
personally wrote to thank management and workers for extraordinary efforts in the war effort. Uxbridge mills were allowed to fly special Army and Navy "E" flags for excellence in wartime production. It was later known as America's third largest yarn mill, the Bernat Mill
.
. Production from local mills ended, rivers were restored, and community renewal followed. The Great Gatsby
(1974) and Oliver's Story
(1978) were filmed locally including Stanley Woolen Mill
.
The National Heritage Corridor
contains the 1000 acres (4 km²) Blackstone Canal Heritage State Park
, 9 miles (14.5 km) of the Blackstone River Bikeway
, the Southern New England Trunkline Trail
, and West Hill Dam
Army Corps
wildlife refuge
. 60 Federalist
homes add to 54 National, and 375 state-listed historic sites, including Georgian
Elmshade
, and other historic architectural styles.
A 2007 fire of epic proportions destroyed the 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²) Bernat Mill
, 500 jobs, and 65 businesses. [note: link not available without member account] The local fire department, located one block away, responded immediately at 4:30 am on July 21, 2007. The ten-alarm fire quickly overwhelmed local resources, requiring a fire-fighting response from two states and 66 local fire departments. The fire burned for days. The original historic wooden mill of John and Effingham Capron was preserved by fire fighters. The Fire Marshal traced the fire to a welding company and failed sprinklers.
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
, founded in 1727, may be divided into its prehistory, its colonial history and its modern industrial history. Uxbridge is located on the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
-Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
state line, and became a center of the earliest industrialized region in the United States.
Highlights
This community was one place of the earliest beginnings of the American Industrial Revolution. Industrial growth was driven by location, abundant water power, and the Blackstone CanalBlackstone Canal
The Blackstone Canal was a waterway linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island through the Blackstone Valley via a series of locks and canals during the early 19th century.-History:...
. Innovators left their mark on America's textile industry. It offers a glimpse of early America- Nipmuc lands, King Phillips War, colonial rule, the Great Awakening
Great Awakening
The term Great Awakening is used to refer to a period of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century...
, Quakers, and the American Revolution. Uxbridge is the geographic center of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a National Heritage Corridor dedicated to the history of the early American Industrial Revolution, including mill towns stretching across 24 cities and towns near the river's course in Worcester County, Massachusetts and...
, the earliest industrialized region in the U.S. There are over 375 state or national historic sites here [needs citations], with an excellent variety of architectural styles. Military uniforms were manufactured here for over 100 years in several large mills. The first U.S. Air Force dress uniform, dubbed "Uxbridge Blue"
, was made here. In woman's history it claims America's first woman voter, Lydia Chapin Taft
Lydia Taft
Lydia Chapin was the first known legal woman voter in colonial America. This occurred in the New England town Town Meeting, at Uxbridge, MA Massachusetts Colony.-Early life:...
.
The town was named after the Earl of Uxbridge, in Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
, England. The Taft family
Taft family
The Taft family of the United States hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, with historic origins in Massachusetts; its members have served Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and the United States in various positions, such as Governor of Ohio, Governor of Rhode Island, U.S. Senator , U.S...
, of England, settled in Mendon (originally called "Mendham"), in 1680, in a section that later became Uxbridge. The Tafts were founders of the town of Uxbridge and Robert Taft, II was on the first Board of Selectmen (town council). The Tafts were said 'locally' to be relatives of the Earl of Uxbridge (though this is not referenced in the appendix of Alfonso Taft's biography). Uxbridge, England, derived its name from a 7th century Anglo-Saxon tribe known as the "Wuxen", (Wuxen Bridge). Early settlers included the Aldriches, the Wheelocks, the Farnums, the Reeds, the Willards, and the Caprons. The Taft and Aldrich families, began from local immigrant ancestors, and went on to become influential in their new nation. Seth Reed was instrumental in adding "E Pluribus Unum
E pluribus unum
E pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
", from many, one, to all U.S. coins. President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
's grandfather was an Uxbridge native.
This town played early roles in public education, human rights, women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
, and public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
. In the 18th century, the town led [needs citation proving leadership] in public education, by establishing 13 district schools. By the late 20th century, the New York Times recognized Uxbridge, for education reform [needs citation]. Congregational and Quaker traditions emphasized human rights and abolition. Uxbridge was the home of six notable women including: 1) Lydia Chapin Taft, America's first legal colonial woman voter, 2) Deborah Sampson
Deborah Sampson
Deborah Samson Gannett , better known as Deborah Sampson, was an American woman who impersonated a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. She is one of a small number of women with a documented record of military combat experience in that war...
, America's first woman soldier, 3) Abby Kelley Foster, a 19th century radical social reformer, 4) Alice Bridges
Alice Bridges
Alice W. Bridges was an American swimmer, who at age 20, competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin. It first appeared that Bridges, who originally was a back-up contestant, had actually won her event...
, a 1936 Olympic medalist, 5) Jeannine Oppewall
Jeannine Oppewall
Jeannine Claudia Oppewall is an American film art director. She has worked on more than 30 movies in such roles as art decorator, set decorator and production designer, and has four Academy Award nominations for Best Art Design for L.A. Confidential, Pleasantville, Seabiscuit and The Good Shepherd...
, a Hollywood film art Producer, and 6) Jacqueline Liebergott
Jacqueline Liebergott
Jacqueline Weis Liebergott was the 11th president of Emerson College and is a doctor in speech pathology.A graduate of the University of Maryland, Liebergott earned her master's and doctoral degrees in speech-language pathology from the University of Pittsburgh...
, the first female President of Emerson College in Boston. In 1922, two years after women's suffrage, the Board of Selectmen defied the Massachusetts's Secretary of State, by appointing the first women jurors in this state. In 1775, the town voted against smallpox vaccination. Footnotes of "unique" public health progress dotted the town's later history. LDS apostle, Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra T. Benson
Ezra Taft Benson was as an apostle and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:Benson was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, the son of John Benson and...
grew up here, married, had a child, and ran a local hotel.
Pre-colonial era
Prehistoric indigenous people inhabited this region of Massachusetts. Arrowheads and artifacts have been found in the areas near the local rivers. A first nationNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, indigenous people, the Nipmuc, pronounced "Nip-Muck", and translated as "small pond people”, settled at Wacentug ("tribe that fished rich waters") and Shock-a-log ("burned place or dry fox place)". Nipmuck is also translated as "people of the fresh waters". The village of Wacentug was located in the plain between the Nipmuc, or "Kuttacuck river",("at the large (or principal) tidal river"), today known as the Blackstone River
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi...
, and the West River
West River (Massachusetts)
The West River, in the US state of Massachusetts, is a tributary of the Blackstone River.-Course:It originates in the towns of Grafton and Upton, Massachusetts, near the Upton State Forest, at Silver Lake and Cider Mill Pond in Grafton, and crosses into the eastern portion of Northbridge, passes...
at "Miscoe, ("the great hill)". The "Kittacuck" river was said to have been plentiful with Salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
and Lamprey
Lamprey
Lampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
in the pre-colonial and colonial time. Wacentug had about 50+ inhabitants by the mid-17th century. The Nipmuc were an Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
tribe who had a highly developed agriculture. In this region of small lakes and rivers, they grew corn (maize), beans and squash, (the "three sisters"), had a graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
mine (at Sturbridge
Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Sturbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to Old Sturbridge Village living history museum and other sites of historical interest such as Tantiusques.The population was 9,268 at the 2010 census...
), and developed a written language. The tribe moved with the seasons, fishing and farming in the gently rolling hills, woodlands, and streams of what would become the heart of southern New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Nipmuc villages were typical of their Algonquian heritage. The Nipmuck nation people still live in the southern Worcester County area, especially near Grafton and Webster.
Colonial era
PuritanPuritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
Missionary John Eliot
John Eliot (missionary)
John Eliot was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the Indian apostle.”-English education and Massachusetts ministry:...
helped start Praying Indian
Praying Indian
Praying Indian is a 17th century term referring to Native Americans of New England who converted to Christianity. While many groups are referred to by this term, it is more commonly used for tribes that were organized into villages, known as praying towns by Puritan leader John Eliot.In 1646, the...
villages such as Wacentug. The Praying Indians were also visited by Rev. Gookin. "Un-official" European settlement of the area began in the 1640s. In 1659, The Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
granted early pioneers the rights to purchase land in the Nipmuck territory. In 1662, settlers from Braintree
Braintree, Massachusetts
The Town of Braintree is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a town, Braintree adopted a municipal charter, effective 2008, with a mayor-council form of government and is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 35,744...
and Weymouth
Weymouth, Massachusetts
The Town of Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, Weymouth had a total population of 53,743. Despite its city status, it is formally known as the Town of Weymouth...
signed a deed with the Nipmuc chief "Great John" and bought Native
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
land, "8 miles2(13km)2 15 miles (24.1 km) W. of Medfield
Medfield, Massachusetts
Medfield is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,024 according to the 2010 Census. Medfield is an affluent community about 17 miles southwest of Boston....
" "for 24 pound Ster". Squinshepauke plantation became Mendon
Mendon, Massachusetts
Mendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,839 at the 2010 census.Mendon is very historic and is now part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, the oldest industrialized region in the United States.- Early history :The Nipmuc people...
in 1667. Robert Taft 1, reportedly, had first settled here in 1669. The settlement burned in King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
in 1675, and the first Massachusetts colonists were killed.
Here is a quote of the signing of the original deed for the Squinshepauk plantation which became the town of Mendon later in 1667.
Signed, sealed and delivered the day and year above written in the presenfe of John Eliot senior John Eliot junior Daniel Weld senior Great John set to his hand & seal and delivered the deed to Moses Payne & Peter Brackett this 8th day of September 1663 as witnesses William Allis, N"athauiel Brackett Anawassanauke Ills ^ Marke and A seale Quashaamiit, liis /C Marke and A seale Namsconont liis Q Marke and A seale Great John :^ his marke and A seale A Seale O and noe hand, source document: Metcalf, Annals of the History of Mendon, 1880.
When the war ended, resettlement followed in 1680, and more families moved westward and settled near Wacentug. Farmers cultivated fertile land in the intervals between its three rivers. The patriarch of the famous American Taft family
Taft family
The Taft family of the United States hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, with historic origins in Massachusetts; its members have served Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and the United States in various positions, such as Governor of Ohio, Governor of Rhode Island, U.S. Senator , U.S...
, Robert Taft I
Robert Taft, Sr.
Robert Taft, Sr., also known as Robert Taft, or Robert Taft I , was the first American Taft and founder of the American Taft Family...
, and the Aldriches settled here circa 1680. Settlers became increasingly anxious to have their own separate town, but the process took years.
The town of Uxbridge was finally incorporated in June 1727, and Farnum House
Coronet John Farnum, Jr., House
The Coronet John Farnum, Jr. House, built circa 1710, is one of the oldest homes in the historic Blackstone Valley town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts...
held the first town meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
. One of the first official acts at the next annual Town Meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
, was to appropriate fifteen gallons of 'ye good rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
for ye raising of ye meeting house'. The colonial town was an agrarian center, with a smattering of grist mills, distilleries, and iron works. The town was named for the Earl of Uxbridge, who was then a member of the "Privy Council" in England.
The first listing of officers of the town is as follows: the town moderator was Eddie Greene, the first listed selectman was Robert Taft, 2nd
Robert Taft, 2nd
Robert Taft, 2nd, also known as Robert Taft II, 1674-1748 was born in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts; he died at age 74 at Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts-Birth:Robert Taft, 2nd, is an early American pioneer...
, followed by Ebeneazer Read, Wooland Thompson, Lieutenant Joseph White and Edmund Rawson. Surveyors of Highways were Solomon Wood, James Keith, and John Emerson. The Constables were Thomas White and William Brown, Jr. "Tything men" were Joshua Whitney and Joseph Taft. Solomon Wood was the Treasurer. Fence viewers were John Cook and William Holbrook while "hog-reaves")[keepers of the peace involving swine], were Gershom Keith and Simeon Peck. The incorporated colonial township also included the jurisdiction of what is today the town of Northbridge
Northbridge, Massachusetts
Northbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,707 at the 2010 census. The Northbridge Town Hall is located at 7 Main Street in Whitinsville. The town is now a part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, of the National Park...
Reverend Nathan Webb
Nathan Webb
Nathan Webb, an early American Congregational Church minister, was born on April 9, 1705, at Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He died on March 17, 1772 at Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts-Early life:...
's church, the first church in Uxbridge, was the Colony's first new Congregational church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
in the Great Awakening
First Great Awakening
The First Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal...
period. Webb and his church played a prominent role in the colonial history of Uxbridge. Members of Nathan Webb's church would help to make history, including among others, Josiah
Josiah Taft
-Early life:Josiah was born on April 2, 1709, at Mendon, Massachusetts, the son of Daniel and Taft, and the grandson of the first American Taft, Robert Taft, Sr. Josiah's father Daniel, had been a local "squire" and Justice of the Peace...
and Lydia Taft
Lydia Taft
Lydia Chapin was the first known legal woman voter in colonial America. This occurred in the New England town Town Meeting, at Uxbridge, MA Massachusetts Colony.-Early life:...
, Captain Bezaleel Taft, Sr.
Bezaleel Taft, Sr.
-The Honorable Bezaleel Taft, Sr.'s home:Today Honorable Bezaleel Taft's home is known as "Hon. Bazaleel Taft House" and is listed on the National Historic Register. It has the Georgian architecture style, as does his son's home nearby, Elmshade. Both homes were well known in the Taft family for...
, Seth Reed, and Samuel Spring
Samuel Spring
Samuel Spring was an early American Revolutionary War chaplain and Congregationalist minister.-Early life and education:Spring was born in Uxbridge in the Massachusetts Colony on February 27, 1746....
. Uxbridge settlers, like Lieutenant John Read, and Captain Josiah Taft
Josiah Taft
-Early life:Josiah was born on April 2, 1709, at Mendon, Massachusetts, the son of Daniel and Taft, and the grandson of the first American Taft, Robert Taft, Sr. Josiah's father Daniel, had been a local "squire" and Justice of the Peace...
, fought in the French and Indian Wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
. Captain Josiah Taft
Josiah Taft
-Early life:Josiah was born on April 2, 1709, at Mendon, Massachusetts, the son of Daniel and Taft, and the grandson of the first American Taft, Robert Taft, Sr. Josiah's father Daniel, had been a local "squire" and Justice of the Peace...
's widow, Lydia Chapin Taft, voted to fund this war in 1756, a first step for women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
, legislated by the Uxbridge Town Meeting. Her estate paid the largest taxes in the town of Uxbridge. The town meeting minutes record her voting again in 1758, and 1765. She lived to see her son, Captain Bezaleel Taft, Sr.
Bezaleel Taft, Sr.
-The Honorable Bezaleel Taft, Sr.'s home:Today Honorable Bezaleel Taft's home is known as "Hon. Bazaleel Taft House" and is listed on the National Historic Register. It has the Georgian architecture style, as does his son's home nearby, Elmshade. Both homes were well known in the Taft family for...
, fight to defend the new United States in the War for independence. Lydia Chapin Taft died in 1778. Judge Henry Chapin
Judge Henry Chapin
Henry Chapin was a judge, a state legislator, and a three-term mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts.-Early life and career:...
later wrote, in 1864, that by allowing the "widow Taft" to vote, the town followed the principal of "no taxation without representation
No taxation without representation
"No taxation without representation" is a slogan originating during the 1750s and 1760s that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution...
" and "Uxbridge may one day become famous in the history of women's suffrage Lyida's historic vote was 164 years before the XIXth Amendment in 1920 which allowed women in America to vote.
The little town's future as an industrial center was secure, with good quality bog iron
Bog iron
Bog iron refers to impure iron deposits that develop in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidation of iron carried in the solutions. In general, bog ores consist primarily of iron oxyhydroxides, commonly goethite...
ore, three or more iron forges, and renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
from the Mumford
Mumford River
The Mumford River is an river in south-central Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Blackstone River.The river rises from its headwaters in Sutton and Douglas at Manchaug Pond and flows east in a meandering path through a series of ponds , and joins the Blackstone River in Uxbridge.The river...
, West
West River (Massachusetts)
The West River, in the US state of Massachusetts, is a tributary of the Blackstone River.-Course:It originates in the towns of Grafton and Upton, Massachusetts, near the Upton State Forest, at Silver Lake and Cider Mill Pond in Grafton, and crosses into the eastern portion of Northbridge, passes...
, and Blackstone
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi...
rivers.
Photos
Shortly before the Revolution, circa 1769, Smithfield, Rhode IslandSmithfield, Rhode Island
Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville...
Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
abolitionists, with ties to Moses Brown
Moses Brown
Moses Brown was a co-founder of Brown University and a New England abolitionist and industrialist, who funded the design and construction of some of the first factory houses for spinning machines during the American industrial revolution, including Slater Mill.-Early life:Brown was the son of...
, who founded Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, settled here. Local families, such as Moses Farnum
Moses Farnum House
The Moses Farnum House is an historic house located on Route 146A. in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On October 7, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.-National Register listing:...
, also settled at the Quaker colony in the southern outskirts of Uxbridge, along what is today Massachusetts Route 146A. The "Quaker City" settlement changed the character of the town. The Quakers built mills, railroads, houses
Jacob Aldrich House
The Jacob Aldrich House, also known as the J. Aldrich House, is an historic house located at 389 Aldrich Street, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts...
, tools and Conestoga wagon
Conestoga wagon
The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...
wheels. Southwick's store housed Uxbridge's "Social and Instructive Library", established in 1775.
Friends Meetinghouse
Friends Meetinghouse (Uxbridge, Massachusetts)
The ' is an historic Friends Meeting House of the Religious Society of Friends located at the junction of Routes 146A and 98 in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On January 24, 1974, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.-History:The Friends Meeting House is one of the last crude brick...
, built on Moses Farnum
Moses Farnum House
The Moses Farnum House is an historic house located on Route 146A. in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On October 7, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.-National Register listing:...
's farm, with bricks made from a local brickyard, claimed "fiery abolitionist" Abby Kelley Foster. Kelley Foster became a national figure in the radical wing of the abolitionist movement, leading Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone was a prominent American abolitionist and suffragist, and a vocal advocate and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. She spoke out for women's rights and against slavery at a time when women were discouraged...
and Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
into the cause. The Second Great Awakening
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870. The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be...
touched Quakers, women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
, human rights, and changed local mortuary practices for the poor. The "Uxbridge monthly meeting" later disowned Kelley because of her "radical views". Historic
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
Quaker homes
Seth Aldrich House
The Seth Aldrich House or S. Aldrich House is an historic house located at 317 Aldrich Street, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On October 7, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.-History:...
were Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
sites at least from the time period of Abby Kelley Foster. Abby Kelley, at Dutchess County New York, would later write to a friend, "our cause is steady onward".
The influential American Aldrich family got its start here, and the village of Aldrich was next to Friend's Meeting House. The family's cemetery, near the corner of Glendale Road and Aldrich Street
Massachusetts Route 98
Route 98 is a southwest-northeast numbered highway in central Massachusetts. The highway is a continuation of Rhode Island Route 98 in Uxbridge.-Route description:...
is where the immigrant ancestor, George Aldrich, is said to have been re-buried, circa 1682. Quaker families, including Elisha Southwick
Elisha Southwick House
The Elisha Southwick House is an historic house located at 255 Chocolog Road, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts USA. On October 7, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places...
, built Conestoga wagon wheels and made Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
Blue Jeans
Denim
Denim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century...
in the 19th century.
Agriculture was prominent in Quaker City and south Uxbridge, with fertile land, scenic rivers, and cranberry bogs. Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
's widow, Peggy Shippen
Peggy Shippen
Peggy Shippen, or Margaret Shippen , was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold...
, a Philadelphia heiress and a Quaker, settled in Uxbridge before she died in 1836.
Photos
Debt from the French and Indian war led to heavy British taxes on the colonies which led to the American Revolution. Two adventurous brothers, SethSeth Read
Seth Read was born in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and died at Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania, as "Seth Reed", at age 51.-Early life:...
and Joseph Read
Joseph Read
Joseph Read was a soldier and a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War.-Early life:Read was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, the son of John and Lucy Read. He married Eunice Taft of Uxbridge on Nov 22, 1753...
joined local Committees of Correspondence
Committee of correspondence
The Committees of Correspondence were shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of American Revolution. They coordinated responses to Britain and shared their plans; by 1773 they had emerged as shadow governments, superseding the colonial legislature...
by July of 1774. Colonel John Spring led a Massachusetts Militia
Massachusetts militia
Militia of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts.-List of Massachusetts militia units of the American Revolution:*Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts *Cogswell's Regiment of Militia...
training company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
of Uxbridge men who prepared for the battle. Dozens of local men fought at the Lexington alarm
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
and at Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
. Lt. Col. Seth Read fought at Bunker Hill under Colonel John Patterson. General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
stopped at a tavern owned by Colonel Seth Read in June 1775 before assuming command of the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
in Boston. Colonels Seth Read, J. Read, Spring, Tyler, Chapin, Captains Green, Bezaleel Taft
Bezaleel Taft, Sr.
-The Honorable Bezaleel Taft, Sr.'s home:Today Honorable Bezaleel Taft's home is known as "Hon. Bazaleel Taft House" and is listed on the National Historic Register. It has the Georgian architecture style, as does his son's home nearby, Elmshade. Both homes were well known in the Taft family for...
, Hall
Baxter Hall
Baxter Hall was a military officer, and a militia captain, of significance to the American Revolution. He was born in 1757 and died in 1842.-Family:...
, Rawson, and Lieutenants Wheelock
Simeon Wheelock
Simeon Wheelock was a blacksmith from Uxbridge, Massachusetts, who served as a minuteman in the Massachusetts militia during the battles of Lexington and Concord in the American Revolutionary War...
, J. Taft, Farnum, and White served with several companies of local heroes
Sons of the American Revolution
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a Louisville, Kentucky-based fraternal organization in the United States...
. Baxter Hall
Baxter Hall
Baxter Hall was a military officer, and a militia captain, of significance to the American Revolution. He was born in 1757 and died in 1842.-Family:...
, an 18 year old Battle of Lexington drummer, served at Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
and at West Point
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
when General Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
escaped. Samuel Spring
Samuel Spring
Samuel Spring was an early American Revolutionary War chaplain and Congregationalist minister.-Early life and education:Spring was born in Uxbridge in the Massachusetts Colony on February 27, 1746....
, a native of Uxbridge, trained under Rev. Nathan Webb
Nathan Webb
Nathan Webb, an early American Congregational Church minister, was born on April 9, 1705, at Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He died on March 17, 1772 at Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts-Early life:...
, and at Princeton College, and became a Revolutionary War chaplain commissioned in the militia at the Siege of Boston
Siege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
. Rev. Spring then served under Colonel Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
, in the invasion of Canada
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
, while Lt. Colonel Seth Read served in a separate regiment, under Colonel John Paterson. Samuel carried Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
, his Princeton classmate, off of separate battlefields. Samuel, "a fundamentalist Congregationalist", went on to be a renowned clergyman in Newburyport, with published works, and a founder of the Massachusetts Missionary Society.
Dozens of soldiers from Uxbridge served in the American Revolution, mostly as Massachusetts militiamen. The most prominently represented families were the Tafts, and the Wheelocks. Over a dozen Tafts fought in the war, and at least 4 Wheelock soldiers were from Uxbridge including Lt. Simeon, Paul, and two named Luther Wheelock.
Deborah Sampson
Deborah Sampson
Deborah Samson Gannett , better known as Deborah Sampson, was an American woman who impersonated a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. She is one of a small number of women with a documented record of military combat experience in that war...
, America's first woman soldier, enlisted in the Continental Army at Bellingham
Bellingham, Massachusetts
Bellingham is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,332 at the 2010 census. The town sits on the southwestern fringe of Metropolitan Boston, along the rapidly growing "outer belt" that is Route 495...
as "Robert Shurtlieff of Uxbridge" by convincing the Uxbridge sergeant that she was a teenage boy. She was assigned to the unit under Noah Taft and wounded in battle at Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
. After being wounded, Deborah served with General John Patterson, who Seth Read had served under. General George Washington gave her an honorable discharge, some money and some advice. Deborah went on to become a women's rights hero.
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in central and western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War....
, an uprising of farmers related to currency disarray, had its opening salvos in Uxbridge on Feb. 3, 1783. Gov. John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
suppressed local riots, after a request by Colonel Nathan Tyler of Uxbridge. Lieutenant Simeon Wheelock
Simeon Wheelock
Simeon Wheelock was a blacksmith from Uxbridge, Massachusetts, who served as a minuteman in the Massachusetts militia during the battles of Lexington and Concord in the American Revolutionary War...
, whose family became local textile pioneers, died at Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
near the Armory
Springfield Armory
The Springfield Armory, located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts - from 1777 until its closing in 1968 - was the primary center for the manufacture of U.S. military firearms. After its controversial closing during the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory was declared Western Massachusetts'...
when he was killed by a horse. Shays' Rebellion so alarmed George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
that he emerged from retirement in 1786 and 1787 to advocate a stronger national government. Dr. Samuel Willard
Dr. Samuel Willard
-Early life and career:Samuel Willard, the son of Dr. Nahum Willard of Lancaster, Massachusetts, and a descendant of the famous Major Simon Willard of 17th-century Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard University in 1767. He studied medicine under Dr. Israel Atherton of Lancaster, Massachusetts,...
, (who reportedly held slaves prior to 1783), fought in Shays' Rebellion and represented Uxbridge in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
's ratification
Ratification
Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal. The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutionals in federations such as the United States and Canada.- Private law :In contract law, the...
of the U.S. Constitution. Massachusetts was the first state to outlaw slavery in 1783, (with Seth Reed representing the town, and Governor John Hancock signing the legislation).
As the Revolutionary war came to a close, Seth Read
Seth Read
Seth Read was born in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and died at Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania, as "Seth Reed", at age 51.-Early life:...
, whose father John had been an officer in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, served in the Massachusetts legislature. This was the time of great turmoil of currency following the Revolution. In March of 1786, Reed petitioned both houses of the legislature, to mint Massachusetts coins, both copper and silver. The legislature concurred. Seth Reed somehow became instrumental in adding E pluribus unum
E pluribus unum
E pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
("Out of Many, One,") to U.S. coins. Massachusetts "coppers" were among the first coins ever minted in the United States. E Pluribus Unum is now considered the "traditional motto" of the United States.
In 1789, President Washington, on his inaugural tour of New England, from Boston to the capitol at New York City, made his first overnight stop in Uxbridge. The President had just been refused lodging at what he believed was an Inn in Uxbridge, Mass. but the Amidon Inn, was in fact at Mendon. He traveled further to North Uxbridge, to stay at the home of former Revolutionary War soldier Samuel Taft
Samuel Taft
Samuel Taft was born September 23, 1735 at Upton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and died in 1816 at Uxbridge Worcester County, Massachusetts, in his 80th year...
, and later wrote his hosts to thank them, and sent them gifts, including "chintz", and it's part of our history.
Photos
The town of Uxbridge and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts both led the United States in establishing public education. The Town of Dedham, MassachusettsDedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
had the first American taxpayer funded school in 1643, and the Wheelock family's ancestor, Rev. Ralph Wheelock was its first teacher. Uxbridge's first library was established in 1775, and its first grammar school was opened in 1788. In 1797, the town of Uxbridge appropriated $2,000 and opened 13 district schools, one for each village and section of town. The Ironstone School, now home to the South Uxbridge Community Association, located on Ironstone Street; the Elmdale School, now the Oddfellows Hall; and the Happy Hollow School, now located on Carney Street, are each examples of the former one-room district schools. The Uxbridge Academy
Uxbridge Academy
The Uxbridge Academy was part of what now is known as the "Uxbridge Common District" in downtown Uxbridge, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other historic buildings including some on the national historic register in this district include the Uxbridge Free...
was a sought after New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
prep school between 1818 and 1851 with an outstanding educator, Joshua Mason Macomber
Joshua Mason Macomber
Joshua Mason Macomber, A.M., M.D , was a noted educator and a physician from New Salem, Massachusetts, United States.-Early life:...
.
In 1797, Uxbridge appropriated two thousand dollars to erecting or creating the following 13 District schools:
| District 1 – Willard Ellerson | District 2- S W Scott | District 3 – Holbrook's | District 4 – Rivulet | District 5 – Center | District 6 – Martin Brown | District 7 – Ironstone | District 8 – Jacob Aldrich | District 9 – Ben Buffum's | District 10 – Williams | District 11- Charles E. Whitin | District 12 – Caleb Richardson | District 13 – Wheelock |
The Uxbridge Academy and Solomon's Temple Lodge
The Uxbridge AcademyUxbridge Academy
The Uxbridge Academy was part of what now is known as the "Uxbridge Common District" in downtown Uxbridge, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other historic buildings including some on the national historic register in this district include the Uxbridge Free...
was a prestigious New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
preparatory institution in the early 19th century which graduated a number of prominent citizens. Among them were Marcus Spring
Marcus Spring
Marcus Spring was the creator of the Raritan Bay Union, a utopian community in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.-Early life:...
, Colonel John Capron
John Capron
John Willard Capron was an American military officer in the infantry, state legislator, and textile manufacturer.-Early life, family:...
, Moses Taft
Moses Taft
Moses Taft 2nd was born at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. He was significant as an early American Industrialist and financier in the historic Blackstone Valley, and a member of the famous Taft family.-Birth parents and family:...
, George Boardman Boomer, and Richard Sayles
Richard Sayles House
The Richard Sayles House is an historic house located at 80 Mendon Street, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On October 7, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places....
. Famous Historian and writer, William Augustus Mowry
William Augustus Mowry
William Augustus Mowry was an American educator and historical writer, born at Uxbridge, Massachusetts.-Family:William Augustus was an eighth-generation descendent of the Mowry family that immigrated from England to Providence in 1666. He was born to Johnathan Mowry and Hannah Mowry. His mother...
wrote a historical sketch about Uxbridge Academy. Joshua Mason Macomber
Joshua Mason Macomber
Joshua Mason Macomber, A.M., M.D , was a noted educator and a physician from New Salem, Massachusetts, United States.-Early life:...
, A.M., M.D., was the principal of Uxbridge Academy from 1840–1850. This was said to be the "Palmy" period of the academy under the direction of this successful educator. The Uxbridge Academy developed a widespread reputation and during his tenure attracted hundreds of students from communities in at least six states. The building that housed Uxbridge Academy still stands on the Town Common in Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
. The Uxbridge academy began in 1818 as a secondary school in an upstairs location. Today the Uxbridge Academy is still occupied by the local Solomon's Temple Lodge.
On December 10, 1818, a small group of 16 men got together and met at Spring’s Hall Tavern in North Uxbridge, which was located at the north end of Rivulet St, and called the first meeting of Solomon's Temple Lodge of Masons. Each of these men professed a true faith in a higher being and gathered in brotherhood, and called to order the first meeting of Solomon’s Temple Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. Masonry was already a solid establishment in Massachusetts, having previously receiving a charter from the Grand Lodge of England in 1733. The first meeting was held on that very day and meetings continue to this day. As the records of the lodge indicate, the first order of business was to find a meeting place that they could call their own. On June 3, 1819, the brethren voted to erect its own hall noting that the area North of the town common would be a suitable place. In conjunction with the town, the building was raised with the second floor being used for Masonic purposes and the first floor being used as a private schoolhouse. This building would be known as the “Academy Building.” The Lodge was the first to make use of the building with 29 members present on November 25, 1819. The Lodge has met in this very building ever since, a record purported to be unmatched by any other Masonic Lodge in Massachusetts. Abiding by its vows to charity, the Lodge allowed the hall to be used by several religious and fraternal organizations, including the First Congregational Society in 1835, The Uxbridge Lodge of Odd Fellows in 1847, the Sons of Temperance in 1860, Court Purity in 1891, and Rathbobone Lodge, Knights of Pythias in 1898. Thus began a long line of charitable works performed by the Lodge that passed down through the years.
Photos
Transportation evolved at this crossroads village as Nipmuck trails gave way to pioneer roads. Robert Taft IRobert Taft, Sr.
Robert Taft, Sr., also known as Robert Taft, or Robert Taft I , was the first American Taft and founder of the American Taft Family...
and his sons built the first bridge across the Blackstone River
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi...
in 1709. The Middle Post Road, set down by Ben Franklin as the 9th Massachusetts turnpike, began locally around "Colonel Crown's land" and meandered past rocky Yankee
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
farms and woods, as it carried French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
troops, Revolutionary war regiments, and their Commander in Chief, 1812 War
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
supplies, and passed a Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
camp near "Stage Coach Hill". Taverns along the middle post road here included the Wood Tavern, at Rice City, the Spring Tavern and the Taft Tavern at North Uxbridge, and the Thayer Tavern, near East Douglas. Today the old east-west Middle Post Road is known locally as Hartford Avenue.
When production from the mills began, "teamsters" drove huge wagons, pulled by "teams" of horses, on the "Great Road" south to Woonsocket
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
and Providence, and north along Main St. to Worcester. The Great Road was the main stage route from Worcester to Providence.
John Brown, a Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
merchant, first attempted to build a canal along the Blackstone River in 1796. However, it was General Edward Carrington, a prominent Providence merchant, who later succeeded and built the Blackstone canal. The new canal on the Blackstone would become the second U.S. barge canal, following the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
in upstate New York. The commercial ties between Uxbridge and Providence were historically strong. Beginning in 1824, Irish laborers who had just completed the Erie Canal, arrived here, and built the 46 miles (74 km) Blackstone Canal
Blackstone Canal
The Blackstone Canal was a waterway linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island through the Blackstone Valley via a series of locks and canals during the early 19th century.-History:...
. The barge canal had parallel tow paths for horses, and carried thousands of tons of goods yearly from Worcester to Providence, beginning in 1828. The canal boat trip from Worcester to Providence, took two days, and Uxbridge was the overnight stopping point. The first of the canal's many barges was named for General Carrignton's wife, "The Lady Carrington".
The Providence and Worcester Railroad
Providence and Worcester Railroad
The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad in the United States. The railroad connects from Gardner in central Massachusetts, south through its namesake cities of Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island, and west from Rhode Island through Connecticut and into New York City...
was completed in 1847 and the canal ceased operations in 1848. The New York and New England Railroad
New York and New England Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad was a major railroad connecting southern New York state with Hartford, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was known as the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad, which had been formed by...
, Willimantic division, ran through Ironstone
Ironstone, Massachusetts
Ironstone is an historic village in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, United States. It derived its name from plentiful bog iron found here which helped Uxbridge to become a center for three iron forges in the town's earliest settlement. Ironstone today is known as South Uxbridge...
with connections to Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, Boston, and New York City.
An early 20th century electric Trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
ran through Uxbridge to Whitinsville
Whitinsville, Massachusetts
Whitinsville is an unincorporated village and census-designated place on the Mumford River, a tributary of the Blackstone River, in the town of Northbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,704 at the 2010 census. Whitinsville is pronounced as if it were...
and Woonsocket
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
, and the old trolley bridge remains today.
A World War II US Army Air Corps B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
crashed on an Uxbridge hillside on May 18, 1944, known as the "May Day, May Day" crash site. The crash site is less than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Uxbridge mill, which three years later, developed the first US Air Force dress Uniform, a.k.a. "Uxbridge Blue".
Public health footnotes
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, killed Nipmuc, settlers, and soldiers in Colonel Seth Read
Seth Read
Seth Read was born in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and died at Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania, as "Seth Reed", at age 51.-Early life:...
's regiment. Uxbridge voted against smallpox vaccine in a 1775 town meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
. Colonel Read, who was not "variolated", became very ill in the invasion of Canada
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
. His unit suffered from smallpox and starvation forcing him to leave the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
in 1776. Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
advised, and George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
ordered, the Continental Army to be vaccinated by "variolation". Dr. Samuel Willard
Dr. Samuel Willard
-Early life and career:Samuel Willard, the son of Dr. Nahum Willard of Lancaster, Massachusetts, and a descendant of the famous Major Simon Willard of 17th-century Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard University in 1767. He studied medicine under Dr. Israel Atherton of Lancaster, Massachusetts,...
treated local smallpox victims. Footnotes of public health history dotted the town's later history.
Uxbridge published the first 123 years of the town's vital records, through 1850, recording ages, genders, names, and some causes of death. The death of "Benedict Anrold's widow" is recorded here in 1836. Premature, and accidental deaths were common. Infant mortality was high, with children not survinng infancy or dying of childhood diseases. Infection related deaths included "Quincy", smallpox, "dysentary", and tuberculosis. Local selectman Joseph Richardson died of smallpox in 1825 Senator Bezaleel Taft, Jr.
Bezaleel Taft, Jr.
Hon. Bezaleel Taft, Jr. was born in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts on September 8, 1780 and died in Uxbridge, at age 65 on July 16, 1846. He was a State Senator and Massachusetts politician.-Early life:...
, (who was married to Samuel Spring
Samuel Spring
Samuel Spring was an early American Revolutionary War chaplain and Congregationalist minister.-Early life and education:Spring was born in Uxbridge in the Massachusetts Colony on February 27, 1746....
's daughter), and textile pioneer Daniel Day
Daniel Day
Daniel Day was an American pioneer in woolen manufacturing.-Family:Daniel Day was born in Mendon, MA and was the son of Joseph Day and Deborah Taft...
, both died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, "consumption", in the 1840s.
In December 1885, Leonard White (physician)
Leonard White (physician)
Leonard D. White, MD was a late 19th century physician and one of the Health Officers in Massachusetts who was involved with the earliest study of mosquitoes and malaria and efforts for community prevention of malaria.-Early life:...
published a report, on the deaths of two children, two weeks after "vaccination" by an unknonwn practitioner. An 1896 Uxbridge malaria outbreak prompted health officer, Dr. White, to write a report to the State Board of Health, which led to study of mosquito-malaria links, and the first efforts for malaria prevention. State pathologist Theobald Smith, warned White about possible mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
-malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
links. Smith asked that White's son collect mosquito specimens for further analysis, and that citizens 1) add screens to windows, and 2) drain collections of water. In the 20th century, the local board of health assured childhood immunizations, and school health, including polio vaccines.
Photos
The Blackstone ValleyBlackstone Valley
The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution...
was a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. Large scale industrial development began at Uxbridge as early as 1775. Richard Mowry, an Uxbridge farmer, built and marketed equipment to manufacture woolen, linen or cotton cloth, around the time of the Revolution. Uxbridge, an early mill town, had industries, gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
s, sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s, forges, distilleries, and more than 20 local textile mills. In 1855, 560 local workers made 2.5 million yards of cloth. Entrepreneurs here innovated the first power loom
Power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom powered by a line shaft. The first power loom was designed in 1784 by Edmund Cartwright and first built in 1785. It was refined over the next 47 years until a design by Kenworthy and Bullough, made the operation completely automatic. This was known as the...
s for woolens, satinet
Satinet
Satinet is a finely woven fabric with a finish resembling satin but made partly or wholly from cotton or synthetic fiber. The process was developed in Mesopotamia, 5000BC. The fibers may be natural as with cotton, woolens or cashmere wool, or synthetic. The process of manufacturing satinets in the...
, wool
Cashmere wool
Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from Cashmere and other types of goats. The word cashmere derives from an old spelling of Kashmir. Cashmere is fine in texture, and strong, light, and soft. Garments made from it provide excellent...
-nylon serge, and other wool synthetic blends, 'wash and wear' fabrics, and latch hook yarn kits. Local factories further refined manufacturing processes and efficiencies which kept textiles alive and thriving, well beyond the great depression period.
Nearly every section of town had its own mill village, complete with mills, shops, housing, farms, and baseball leagues. Hecla was home to the Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
immigrants, Linwood to the French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
s, and North Uxbridge to the Italian immigrants. Uxbridge Center was the main village nestled between Independence, Prospect and Liberty hills. The Uxbridge Academy
Uxbridge Academy
The Uxbridge Academy was part of what now is known as the "Uxbridge Common District" in downtown Uxbridge, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other historic buildings including some on the national historic register in this district include the Uxbridge Free...
and "the Town common" were centerpieces of this central village. The village of Uxbridge attracted Irish immigrants who had worked on the canal. Water power from the Mumford River became the lifeblood of the Center's early industrialization. In 1832, 60 years after Rev. Nathan Webb's death, famous American hymn-writer Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World...
, came here and wrote the classical hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
"Uxbridge".
Seth Reed's 1777 gristmill at Uxbridge Center served in the 1880s as a gun factory known as "Bay State Arms". John Capron
John Capron
John Willard Capron was an American military officer in the infantry, state legislator, and textile manufacturer.-Early life, family:...
's first ever power loom
Power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom powered by a line shaft. The first power loom was designed in 1784 by Edmund Cartwright and first built in 1785. It was refined over the next 47 years until a design by Kenworthy and Bullough, made the operation completely automatic. This was known as the...
s for woolens made the first cashmere
Cashmere wool
Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from Cashmere and other types of goats. The word cashmere derives from an old spelling of Kashmir. Cashmere is fine in texture, and strong, light, and soft. Garments made from it provide excellent...
satinets in America beginning in 1820. Ironstone
Ironstone, Massachusetts
Ironstone is an historic village in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, United States. It derived its name from plentiful bog iron found here which helped Uxbridge to become a center for three iron forges in the town's earliest settlement. Ironstone today is known as South Uxbridge...
village, in south Uxbridge, had Benjamin Taft's 1734 forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
which let Caleb Handy make tools, scythes and guns. William Arnold's 1815 mill Ironstone mill housing remains there today. The village of Hecla had American Woolen, Daniel Day
Daniel Day
Daniel Day was an American pioneer in woolen manufacturing.-Family:Daniel Day was born in Mendon, MA and was the son of Joseph Day and Deborah Taft...
's 1810 woolen mill, and Hilena Lowell
Lowell family
The Lowell family settled on the North Shore at Cape Ann after they arrived in Boston on June 23, 1639. The patriarch, Percival Lowle , described as a "solid citizen of Bristol", determined at the age of 68 that the future was in the New World.Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop needed...
's shoe factory. At Wheelockville, the Waucantuck Mill
Luke Taft
Luke Taft was an industrial pioneer in the manufacture of woolens in 19th century New England.-Family:...
manufactured the first "wash and wear" fabrics. Calumet's (Central Woolen
Moses Taft
Moses Taft 2nd was born at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. He was significant as an early American Industrialist and financier in the historic Blackstone Valley, and a member of the famous Taft family.-Birth parents and family:...
) ran 24/7 making Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
cloth.
North Uxbridge was home to Richard Sayle's Rivulet Mill
Rivulet Mill Complex
The Rivulet Mill Complex is an historic group of mill buildings located at 60 Rivulet Street, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On October 7, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Rivulet Mill was originally built by Chandler Taft. Mr Sayles purchased the mill in 1864 and...
. and to Clapp's 1810 Cotton Mill. Blanchard's granite quarry, rebuilt Boston after the Great Fire of 1872
Great Boston Fire of 1872
The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was Boston's largest urban fire, and still ranks as one of the most costly fire-related property losses in American history. The conflagration began at 7:20 p.m. on November 9, 1872, in the basement of a commercial warehouse at 83—87 Summer Street in Boston,...
and provided New York City with curbs, as well as stones at the base of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
. Nearby Linwood
Linwood, Massachusetts
Linwood is a village with its own post office in the towns of Northbridge and Uxbridge, Massachusetts.The zip code of the Linwood post office is 01525. As a village of both Uxbridge and Northbridge, Linwood has separate municipal services from Uxbridge or Northbiridge, for fire, police, EMS, School...
has a beautiful 1866 Victorian style cotton mill, built by James Whitin
James Whitin
James Fletcher Whitin was the youngest son of Paul C. Whitin, and brother of John Crane Whitin, who founded the Whitin Machine Works in 1831 at Northbridge, Massachusetts....
. Rogerson's village historic district boasts Robert Rogerson
Robert Rogerson
Robert Rogerson was an early American industrialist. He was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, and died in the United States.-Early career:Robert Rogerson, was born in Taunton to parents who immigrated to the US, from the UK...
's Crown and Eagle Cotton Mill
Rogerson's Village Historic District
Rogersons Village Historic District is a historic mill village in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, United States.-The builder:Rogerson's Village was built by Robert Rogerson, a native of England. He acquired the Clapp Mill in 1817, established on the Mumford River circa 1810, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts....
, considered a masterpiece of early industrial architecture. Today the Crown and Eagle serves as senior housing. Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
immigrants revitalized large old farms for dairy and corn production in the early 20th century.
John Capron
John Capron
John Willard Capron was an American military officer in the infantry, state legislator, and textile manufacturer.-Early life, family:...
's original mill, downstream in Uxbridge, grew under the leadership of Charles Arthur Root of Uxbridge, and Edward Bachman of New York City, into a large textile complex, the Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company, with thirteen plants nationwide in four states with over 6,000 workers. It was locally instrumental in the manufacture of military uniforms and clothing, and also reached the top in the women's fashion industry. A 1953 Time Magazine article said the mill
John Capron
John Willard Capron was an American military officer in the infantry, state legislator, and textile manufacturer.-Early life, family:...
, now under the leadership of Charles Root's son-in-law, Harold Walter
Harold Walter
Harold J. Walter, born in Colorado 1901, died in 1962 in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was an American textile manufacturer.-Early life and education:...
, the Bachman-Uxbridge Worsted Company, led New England's textile industry by research into blended fabrics and wool-nylon "serge". Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, World War I, World War II Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and nurse corps
Army Medical Department (United States)
The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army – known as the AMEDD – comprises the Army's six medical Special Branches of officers and medical enlisted soldiers. It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the medical care required by the Continental Army during the...
uniforms, the first Air Force uniform, "Uxbridge 1683 Blue", and "latch hook kits
Bernat Mill
The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later "Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company", was a yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA, that was destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007....
" were made here. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
personally wrote to thank management and workers for extraordinary efforts in the war effort. Uxbridge mills were allowed to fly special Army and Navy "E" flags for excellence in wartime production. It was later known as America's third largest yarn mill, the Bernat Mill
Bernat Mill
The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later "Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company", was a yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA, that was destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007....
.
Photos
The late 20th century was marked by state and national parks developed around historic mills. Large mill fires signaled the end of local textiles which had declined since the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Production from local mills ended, rivers were restored, and community renewal followed. The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby (1974 film)
The Great Gatsby is a 1974 romantic drama film distributed by Newdon Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick, from a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola based on F...
(1974) and Oliver's Story
Oliver's Story
Oliver's Story is the sequel to the novel Love Story by Erich Segal, turned into a movie of the same name in 1978. It was directed by John Korty and starred Ryan O'Neal and Candice Bergen. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge and Francis Lai. Unlike the original film, Oliver's...
(1978) were filmed locally including Stanley Woolen Mill
Moses Taft
Moses Taft 2nd was born at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. He was significant as an early American Industrialist and financier in the historic Blackstone Valley, and a member of the famous Taft family.-Birth parents and family:...
.
The National Heritage Corridor
Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a National Heritage Corridor dedicated to the history of the early American Industrial Revolution, including mill towns stretching across 24 cities and towns near the river's course in Worcester County, Massachusetts and...
contains the 1000 acres (4 km²) Blackstone Canal Heritage State Park
Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park
The Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park is a part of the State Park system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation...
, 9 miles (14.5 km) of the Blackstone River Bikeway
Blackstone River Bikeway
right|thumb|400px|The Blackstone River Bikeway in October 2006, approximately one mile south of the Martin St. BridgeThe Blackstone River Bikeway is a planned paved rail trail defining the course of the East Coast Greenway through the Blackstone Valley from Worcester, Massachusetts to Providence,...
, the Southern New England Trunkline Trail
Southern New England Trunkline Trail
The Southern New England Trunkline Trail is a rail trail in Massachusetts.It occupies an abandoned railroad corridor running for approximately with an eastern terminus at Union Street in downtown Franklin, Massachusetts and a western terminus at the Connecticut state line in the Douglas State...
, and West Hill Dam
West Hill Dam
West Hill Dam Reserve is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project with a recreational park and wildlife management area located at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. The West Hill Dam Project was completed in 1960. It is located on the West River, one of the branches of the Blackstone River which...
Army Corps
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
wildlife refuge
Wildlife refuge
A wildlife refuge, also called a wildlife sanctuary, may be a naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, or it may refer to a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected...
. 60 Federalist
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
homes add to 54 National, and 375 state-listed historic sites, including Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
Elmshade
Bazaleel Taft, Jr., House and Law Office
The Bazaleel Taft, Jr., House and Law Office is an historic structure in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On November 7, 1983, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
, and other historic architectural styles.
A 2007 fire of epic proportions destroyed the 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²) Bernat Mill
Bernat Mill
The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later "Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company", was a yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA, that was destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007....
, 500 jobs, and 65 businesses. [note: link not available without member account] The local fire department, located one block away, responded immediately at 4:30 am on July 21, 2007. The ten-alarm fire quickly overwhelmed local resources, requiring a fire-fighting response from two states and 66 local fire departments. The fire burned for days. The original historic wooden mill of John and Effingham Capron was preserved by fire fighters. The Fire Marshal traced the fire to a welding company and failed sprinklers.