Chapter 2

The brick store, opposite to the High School, was built about the year 1836, by Henry Woods, for his own place of business, and afterward kept by him and George S. Boutwell, the style of the firm being Woods and Boutwell. Mr. Woods died on January 12, 1841; and he was succeeded by his surviving partner, who carried on the store for a long time, even while holding the highest executive position in the State. The post-office was in this building during the years 1839 and 1840. For the past twenty-five years it has been occupied by various firms, and now is kept by D.H. Shattuck and Company.

During the last war with England, Eliphalet Wheeler had a store where Miss Betsey Capell, in more modern times, kept a haberdasher's shop. It is situated opposite to the Common, and now used as a dwelling-house. She was the daughter of John Capell, who owned the sawmill and gristmill, which formerly stood near the present site of the Tileston and Hollingsworth paper-mills, on the Great Road, north of the village. Afterward Wheeler and his brother, Abner, took Major Thomas Gardner's store, where he was followed by Park and Woods, Park and Potter, Potter and Gerrish, and lastly by Charles Gerrish, who has kept it for more than thirty years. It is said that this building will soon give way to modern improvements.

Near the beginning of the present century there were three military companies in town; the Artillery company, commanded at one time by Captain James Lewis; the North company by Captain Jonas Gilson; and the South company by Captain Abel Tarbell. Two of these officers were soon promoted in the regimental service: Captain Tarbell to a colonelcy, and Captain Lewis to a majorate. Captain Gilson resigned, and was succeeded by Captain Noah Shattuck. They had their Spring and fall training-days, when they drilled as a battalion on the Common,--there were no trees there, then,--and marched through the village. They formed a very respectable command, and sometimes would be drawn up before Esquire Brazer's store, and at other times before Major Gardner's, to be treated with toddy, which was then considered a harmless drink.

David Child had a store, about the beginning of the century, at the south corner of Main and Pleasant Streets, nearly opposite to the site of the Orthodox meeting-house, though Pleasant Street was not then laid out. It was afterward occupied by Deacon Jonathan Adams, then by Artemas Wood, and lastly by Milo H. Shattuck. This was moved off twelve or fifteen years ago, and a spacious building put up, a few rods north, on the old tavern site across the way, by Mr. Shattuck, who still carries on a large business.

Alpheus Richardson kept a store, about the year 1815, in his dwelling-house, at the south corner of Main and Elm Streets, besides having a book-bindery in the same building. The binder's shop was continued until about 1850. It is said that this house was built originally by Colonel James Prescott, for the use of his son, Abijah, as a store; but it never was so occupied.

Joseph and Phineas Hemenway built a store on the north corner of Main and Elm Streets, about the year 1815, where they carried on a trading business. They were succeeded by one Richardson, then by David Childs; and finally by John Spalter, who had for many years a bookstore and binder's shop in the building, which is now used as a dwelling-house. At the present time Mr. Spalter is living in Keene, New Hampshire.

About the year 1826, General Thomas A. Staples built and kept a store on Main Street, directly north of the Union Church. He was followed successively by Benjamin Franklin Lawrence, Henry Hill, and Walter Shattuck. The building was burned down about ten years ago, and its site is now occupied by Dr. David R. Steere's house.

In the year 1847 a large building was moved from Hollis Street to the corner of Main and Court Streets. It was put up originally as a meeting-house for the Second Adventists, or Millerites as they were called in this neighborhood, after William Miller, one of the founders of the sect; but after it was taken to the new site, it was fitted up in a commodious manner, with shops in the basement and a spacious hall in the second story. The building was known as Liberty Hall, and formed a conspicuous structure in the village. The post-office was kept in it, while Mr. Lothrop and Mr. Andruss were the postmasters. It was used as a shoe shop, a grocery, and a bakery, when, on Sunday, March 31, 1878, it was burned to the ground.

The brick store, owned by the Dix family, was built and kept by Aaron Brown, near the beginning of the century. He was followed by Moses Parker, and after him came ---- and Merriam, and then Benjamin P. Dix. It is situated at the corner of Main Street and Broad-Meadow Road, and now used as a dwelling-house. A very good engraving of this building is given in The Groton Herald, May 8, 1830, which is called by persons who remember it at that time a faithful representation, though it has since undergone some changes.

Near the end of the last century, Major William Swan traded in the house now occupied by Charles Woolley, Jr., north of the Common near the old burying-ground. It was Major Swan who set out the elm-trees in front of this house, which was the Reverend Dr. Chaplin's dwelling for many years.

Two daughters of Isaac Bowers, a son of Landlord Bowers, had a dry-goods shop in the house owned and occupied by the late Samuel W. Rowe, Esq. About the year 1825, Walter Shattuck opened a store in the building originally intended for the Presbyterian Church, opposite to the present entrance of the Groton Cemetery. There was formerly a store kept by one Mr. Lewis, near the site of Captain Asa Stillman Lawrence's house, north of the Town Hall. There was a trader in town, Thomas Sackville Tufton by name, who died in the year 1778, though I do not know the site of his shop. Captain Samuel Ward, a native of Worcester, and an officer in the French and Indian War, was engaged in business at Groton some time before the Revolution. He removed to Lancaster, where at one time he was town-clerk, and died there on August 14, 1826.

The Groton post-office was established at the very beginning of the present century, and before that time letters intended for this town were sent through private hands. Previous to the Revolution there were only a few post-offices in the Province, and often persons in distant parts of Massachusetts received their correspondence at Boston. In the Supplement to The Boston Gazette, February 9, 1756, letters are advertised as remaining uncalled for, at the Boston office, addressed to William Lakin and Abigail Parker, both of Groton, as well as to Samuel Manning, Townsend, William Gleany, Dunstable, and Jonathan Lawrence, Littleton. Nearly five months afterward these same letters are advertised in The Boston Weekly News-Letter, July 1, 1756, as still uncalled for. The name of David Farnum, America, appears also in this list, and it is hoped that wherever he was he received the missive. The names of Oliver Lack (probably intended for Lakin) and Ebenezer Parker, both of this town, are given in another list printed in the Gazette of June 28, 1762; and in the same issue one is advertised for Samuel Starling, America. In the Supplement to the Gazette, October 10, 1768, Ebenezer Farnsworth, Jr., and George Peirce, of Groton, had letters advertised; and in the Gazette, October 18, 1773, the names of Amos Farnsworth, Jonas Farnsworth, and William Lawrence, all of this town, appear in the list.

I find no record of a post-rider passing through Groton, during the period immediately preceding the establishment of the post-office; but there was doubtless such a person who used to ride on horseback, equipped with saddle-bags, and delivered at regular intervals the weekly newspapers and letters along the way. In the year 1794, according to the History of New Ipswich, New Hampshire (page 129), a post-rider, by the name of Balch, rode from Boston to Keene one week and back the next. Probably he passed through this town, and served the inhabitants with his favors.

Several years ago I procured, through the kindness of General Charles Devens, at that time a member of President Hayes's cabinet, some statistics of the Groton post-office, which are contained in the following letter:--

Post-Office Department, Appointment Office, Washington, D.C., September 3, 1877.

Hon. CHARLES DEVENS, Attorney-General, Department of Justice.

_Sir_,--I have to acknowledge the receipt of a communication from Samuel A. Green, of Boston, Massachusetts, with your endorsement thereon, requesting to be furnished with a list of postmasters at the office of Groton, in that State, from the date of its establishment to the present time.

In reply, I have the honor to inform you, that the fire which consumed the department building, on the night of the fifteenth of December, 1836, destroyed three of the earliest record-books of this office; but by the aid of the auditor's ledger-books, it is ascertained that the office began to render accounts on the first of January, 1801, but the exact day is not known, Samuel Dana, was the first postmaster, and the following list furnishes the history of the office, as shown by the old records.

Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Office probably established in November, 1800. Samuel Dana began rendering accounts January 1, 1801. Wm. M. Richardson, October 1, 1804.

From this time the exact dates are known.

Abraham Moore, appointed postmaster January 31, 1812.

Eliphalet Wheeler, August 20, 1815.

James Lewis, September 9, 1815.

Caleb Butler, July 1, 1826.

Henry Woods, January 15, 1839.

George S. Boutwell, January 22, 1841.

Caleb Butler, April 15, 1841.

Welcome Lothrop, December 21, 1846.

Artemas Wood, February 22, 1849.

George H. Brown, May 4, 1849.

Theodore Andruss, April 11, 1853.

George W. Fiske, April 22, 1861.

Henry Woodcock, February 13, 1867.

Miss Hattie E. Farnsworth, June 11, 1869, who is the present incumbent.

Each postmaster held the office up to the appointment of his successor, but it is probable that Mr. Boutwell and Mr. A. Wood, although regularly appointed, did not accept, judging by the dates of the next postmasters.

As to the "income" of the office, to which allusion is made, it is very difficult to obtain any of the amounts; but the first year and the last year are herewith appended, as follows:--

Fiscal Year (1801) (1876) First quarter, $1.91 First quarter, $314.15 Second " 2.13 Second " 296.94 Third " 2.93 Third " 305.71 Fourth " 5.29 Fourth " 294.28

For the year, $12.26 For the y'r, $1,211.08

Trusting the foregoing, which is believed to be correct, will be acceptable to you, I am, sir, respectfully,

Your ob't serv't,

JAMES H. MARR,

Acting First Ass't P.M. General.

It will be seen that the net income of the office, during the first seventy-five years of its existence, increased one hundred fold.

West Groton is a small settlement that has sprung up in the western part of the town, dating back in its history to the last century. It is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Squannacook River, and in my boyhood was known as Squannacook, a much better name than the present one. It is to be regretted that so many of the old Indian words, which smack of the region, should have been crowded out of our local nomenclature. There is a small water-power here, and formerly a sawmill, gristmill, and a paper-mill were in operation; but these have now given way to a factory, where leather-board is made. The Peterborough and Shirley branch of the Fitchburg Railroad passes through the place, and some local business is transacted in the neighborhood. As a matter of course, a post-office was needed in the village, and one was established on March 19, 1850. The first person to fill the office was Adams Archibald, a native of Truro, Nova Scotia, who kept it in the railway-station.

The following is a list of the postmasters, with the dates of their appointment:--

Adams Archibald, March 19, 1850. Edmund Blood, May 25, 1868. Charles H. Hill, July 31, 1871. George H. Bixby, June, 1878.

During the postmastership of Mr. Blood, and since that time, the office has been kept at the only store in the place.

A post-office was established at South Groton, on June 1, 1849, and the first postmaster was Andrew B. Gardner. The village was widely known as Groton Junction, and resulted from the intersection of several railroads. Here six passenger-trains coming from different points were due in the same station at the same time, and they all were supposed to leave as punctually.

The trains on the Fitchburg Railroad, arriving from each direction, and likewise the trains on the Worcester and Nashua Road from the north and the south, passed each other at this place. There was also a train from Lowell, on the Stony Brook Railroad, and another on the Peterborough and Shirley branch, coming at that time from West Townsend.

A busy settlement grew up, which was incorporated as a distinct town under the name of Ayer, on February 14, 1871.

The following is a list of the postmasters, with the dates of their appointment:--

Andrew B. Gardner, June 1, 1849. Harvey A. Wood, August 11, 1853. George H. Brown, December 30, 1861. William H. Harlow, December 5, 1862. George H. Brown, January 15, 1863. William H. Harlow, July 18, 1865.

The name of the post-office was changed by the department at Washington, from South Groton to Groton Junction, on March 1, 1862; and subsequently this was changed to Ayer, on March 22, 1871, soon after the incorporation of the town, during the postmastership of Mr. Harlow.

The letter of the acting first assistant postmaster-general, printed above, supplements the account in Butler's History of Groton (pages 249-251). According to Mr. Butler's statement, the post-office was established on. September 29, 1800, and the Honorable Samuel Dana was appointed the first postmaster. No mail, however, was delivered at the office until the last week in November. For a while it came to Groton by the way of Leominster, certainly a very indirect route. This fact appears from a letter written to Judge Dana, by the Postmaster-General, under date of December 18, 1800, apparently in answer to a request to have the mail brought directly from Boston. In this communication the writer says:--

It appears to me, that the arrangement which has been made for carrying the mail to Groton is sufficient for the accommodation of the inhabitants, as it gives them the opportunity of receiving their letters regularly, and with despatch, once a week. The route from Boston, by Leominster, to Groton is only twenty miles farther than by the direct route, and the delay of half a day, which is occasioned thereby, is not of much consequence to the inhabitants of Groton. If it should prove that Groton produces as much postage as Lancaster and Leominster, the new contract for carrying the mail, which is to be in operation on the first of October next, will be made by Concord and Groton to Walpole, and a branch from Concord to Marlborough.

I am, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,

JOS. HABERSHAM.

The amount of postage received from the office, after deducting the necessary expenses, including the postmaster's salary, was, for the first year after its establishment, about twelve dollars, or three dollars for three months. In the year 1802 it was thirty-six dollars, or nine dollars for three months, a large proportional increase. At this time the mail came once a week only, and was brought by the stage-coach.

Samuel Dana, the first postmaster, was a prominent lawyer at the time of his appointment. He was the son of the Reverend Samuel Dana, of Groton, and born in this town, June 26, 1767. He occupied a high position in the community, and exerted a wide influence in the neighborhood. At a later period he was president of the Massachusetts Senate, a member of Congress, and finally chief-justice of the circuit court of common pleas. He died at Charlestown, on November 20, 1835.

Judge Dana kept the post-office in his own office, which was in the same building as that of the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, another noted lawyer. These eminent men were on opposite sides of the same entry; and they were generally on opposite sides of all important cases in the northern part of Middlesex County. The building stood on the site of Governor Boutwell's house, and is still remembered as the medical office of the venerable Dr. Amos Bancroft. It was afterward moved away, and now stands near the railway-station, where it is occupied as a dwelling-house. Judge Dana held the office during four years, and he was succeeded by William M. Richardson, Esq., afterward the chief-justice of the superior court of New Hampshire. Mr. Richardson was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1797, and at the time of his appointment as postmaster had recently finished his professional studies in Groton, under the guidance of Judge Dana. After his admission to the bar, Mr. Richardson entered into partnership with his former instructor, succeeding him as postmaster in July, 1804; and the office was still kept in the same building. During Judge Richardson's term, the net revenue to the department rose from nine dollars to about twenty-eight dollars for three months. He held the position nearly eight years, and was followed by Abraham Moore, who was commissioned on January 31, 1812.

Mr. Moore was a native of Bolton, Massachusetts, where he was born on January 5, 1785. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1806, and studied law at Groton with the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, and after his admission to the bar settled here as a lawyer. His office was on the site of the north end of Gerrish's block, and it was here that the post-office was kept. During his administration the average income from the office was about thirty-three dollars, for the quarter. In the summer of 1815, Mr. Moore resigned the position and removed to Boston.

Eliphalet Wheeler, who kept the store now occupied by Mr. Gerrish, was appointed in Mr. Moore's stead, and the post-office was transferred to his place of business. He, however, was not commissioned, owing, it is thought, to his political views; and Major James Lewis, who was sound in his politics, received the appointment in his stead. Major Lewis, retained Mr. Wheeler for a short time as his assistant, and during this period the duties were performed by him in his own store. Shortly afterward Caleb Butler, Esq., was appointed the assistant, and he continued to hold the position for eight years. During this time the business was carried on in Mr. Butler's law office, and the revenue to the government reached the sum of fifty dollars a quarter. His office was then in a small building,--just south of Mr. Hoar's tavern,--which was moved away about the year 1820, and taken to the lot where Colonel Needham's house now stands, at the corner of Main and Hollis Streets. It was fitted up as a dwelling, and subsequently moved away again. At this time the old store of Mr. Brazer, who had previously died, was brought from over the way, and occupied by Mr. Butler, on the site of his former office.

On July 1, 1826, Mr. Butler, who had been Major Lewis's assistant for many years, and performed most of the duties of the office, was commissioned postmaster.

Mr. Butler was a native of Pelham, New Hampshire, where he was born on September 13, 1776, and a graduate of Dartmouth College, in the class of 1800. He had been the preceptor of Groton Academy for some years, and was widely known as a critical scholar. He had previously studied law with the Honorable Luther Lawrence, of Groton, though his subsequent practice was more in drawing up papers and settling estates than in attendance at courts. His name is now identified with the town as its historian. During his term of office as postmaster, the revenue rose from fifty dollars to one hundred and ten dollars a quarter. He held the position nearly thirteen years, to the entire satisfaction of the public; but for political heresy was removed on January 15, 1839, when Henry Woods was commissioned as his successor.

Mr. Woods held the office until his death, which occurred on January 12, 1841; and he was followed by the Honorable George S. Boutwell, since the Governor of the Commonwealth and a member of the United States Senate. During the administration of Mr. Woods and Mr. Boutwell, the office was kept in the brick store, opposite to the present High School.

Upon the change in the administration of the National Government, Mr. Butler was reinstated in office, and commissioned on April 15, 1841. He continued to hold the position until December 21, 1846, when he was again removed for political reasons. Mr. Butler was a most obliging man, and his removal was received by the public with general regret. During his two terms he filled the office for more than eighteen years, a longer period than has fallen to the lot of any other postmaster of the town. Near the end of his service a material change was made in the rate of postage on letters; and in his History (page 251) he thus comments on it:--

The experiment of a cheap rate was put upon trial. From May 14, 1841, to December 31, 1844, the net revenue averaged one hundred and twenty-four dollars and seventy-one cents per quarter. Under the new law, for the first year and a half, the revenue has been one hundred and four dollars and seventy-seven cents per quarter. Had the former rates remained, the natural increase of business should have raised it to one hundred and fifty dollars per quarter. The department, which for some years before had fallen short of supporting itself, now became a heavy charge upon the treasury. Whether the present rates will eventually raise a sufficient revenue to meet the expenditures, remains to be seen. The greatest difficulty to be overcome is evasion of the post-office laws and fraud upon the department.

Like many other persons of that period, Mr. Butler did not appreciate the fact that the best way to prevent evasions of the law is to reduce the rates of postage so low that it will not pay to run the risk of fraud.

Captain Welcome Lothrop succeeded Mr. Butler as postmaster, and during his administration the office was kept in Liberty Hall. Captain Lothrop was a native of Easton, Massachusetts, and a land-surveyor of some repute in this neighborhood. Artemas Wood followed him by appointment on February 22, 1849; but he never entered upon the duties of his office. He was succeeded by George H. Brown, who had published The Spirit of the Times--a political newspaper--during the presidential canvass of 1848, and in this way had become somewhat prominent as a local politician. Mr. Brown was appointed on May 4, 1849; and during his term the office was kept in an ell of his dwelling-house, which was situated nearly opposite to the Orthodox meeting-house. He was afterward the postmaster of Ayer. Mr. Brown was followed by Theodore Andruss, a native of Orford, New Hampshire, who was commissioned on April 11, 1853. Mr. Andruss brought the office back to Liberty Hall, and continued to be the incumbent until April 22, 1861, when he was succeeded by George W. Fiske. On February 13, 1867, Henry Woodcock was appointed to the position, and the office was then removed to the Town Hall, where most excellent accommodations were given to the public.

He was followed on June 11, 1869, by Miss Harriet E. Farnsworth, now Mrs. Marion Putnam; and she in turn was succeeded on July 2, 1880, by Mrs. Christina D. (Caryl) Fosdick, the widow of Samuel Woodbury Fosdick, and the present incumbent.