Зображення сторінки
PDF
ePub

Samuel Tyler, to execute deeds to the families who had removed to the town, and a deed was accordingly executed on the 8th day of January, 1722, to John Stebbins, and forty six others, which deed is said to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds, for the County of Middlesex, to which county this town then belonged-Book 29, page 329. The measure of the town proved to be what surveyors call "large," and though the western half of it was set off, in 1753, into a town, by the name of Spencer, and two miles in width of its northern part taken off, in 1765, to constitute a part of Paxton, and about 2500 acres again taken off from its southeastern corner, to form a part of the town of Ward, it still contains 14,426

acres.

Many of the original proprietors of the town were the ancestors of families, bearing the same name, now residing here, and among the most respectable in town, some of whose names we may hereafter have occasion to mention.*

BOUNDARIES.-Leicester is bounded, on the north by Paxton, the line dividing which towns runs east, two and one half degrees south, twelve hundred and six rods; east, by the town of Worcester, by a line running south, about fifteen degrees east, and thirteen hundred and eighty four and one half rods on Worcester; southeast by Ward, by a line running east, two degrees fifty minutes north, one hundred and fifty six rods, fifteen links, and north, thirty nine degrees forty five minutes east, two hundred and eighty eight rods, and north, thirty seven and one half degrees east, five hundred and eighty rodst; south, by Oxford north gore and Charlton, by a line running west, one and a quarter degrees north, seven hundred and twenty rods; and west, by Spencer, by a line running north, four degrees west, two thousand and thirty two rods. The town is seven miles from the Court house, in Worcester, in a direction a little south of west. It is forty five miles from Boston, and the same distance from Northampton.

FACE OF THE COUNTRY.-This town has been considered remark

Among these were Daniel Livermore, (who was the great-grandfather of the present Messrs. Daniel and Salem Livermore,) Joshua Henshaw, Samuel Green, Daniel Denny, David Henshaw, Ralph Earle, and Richard Southgate.

We

+ A part of the line between Ward and Leicester is now in dispute. give the lines according to a survey, taken in 1794, by vote of the town, by Reuben Swan and Timothy Sprague, and protracted by Mr. Peter Silvester, who has been long engaged as a surveyor in this town.

able for its hilly and uneven surface; this opinion has arisen from the circumstance, that all the principal roads leading through it, have been made over the most considerable elevations of land, and give to the weary traveller the impression that the whole of its territory is of that character. The face of the town is, indeed, uneven, and lying upon the height of land between Boston and Connecticut river, it is quite elevated. Yet there are no very high hills, or abrupt elevations of land above the general surface of the country. Some of the most considerable of the hills have received names by custom and tradition, by which they are usually designated. That upon which the Congregational Meeting House is built, was originally called Strawberry hill, from the abundance of that fruit found there in the early settlement of the town. Another, in the east part of the town, a little north of the "county road," is known by the name of "Indian" or "Bald hill," on account of its having been cleared and planted by the Indians before the white men settled here. The hill about one mile west from the Meeting house, has been, for many years, known by the name of "Mount Pleasant."* It had, within a few years, an elegant house upon it, fitted up as a country seat, by Maj. James Swan, who has long been a state prisoner in France. The seat has now gone greatly to decay, but is still an interesting spot, on account of the extensive and beautiful prospect it enjoys.

Another hill, which is about half a mile north from the Meeting House, has been known by the name of "Carey's hill," from the earliest settlement of the town; and derives its name from that of a hermit, who retired to this spot, long before it was settled by Europeans, and lived in a cave, which he dug in the hill. Who he was, and how much of his story is mere tradition, we are not able to determine. But the well from which he drew his water, the ditch by which he drained his cave, and the stones that helped to form his dwelling, are all visible there at this day. Moose hill is at the northwest corner, and Grass hill at the southwest corner of the town. The views from many of the hills in this town are extremely fine. That from the Mansion house, on the estate which has been in the Denny family since the settlement of the town, embraces nine or ten churches, besides a vast extent of beautiful and fertile country. This landscape has formed a subject for the

It was first called Mount Pleasant by Lewis Allen, a singular man, who once owned the seat, afterwards Major Swan's. By his own direction, he was buried in his garden, where his tomb is yet visible.

pencil of a native artist, of very considerable merit and reputation, Mr. Ralph Earle,* who had resided many years in England, where he went, together with his brother, to cultivate the natural taste and genius they possessed. This landscape is a very creditable effort at painting of that kind.

SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, &c.-The soil of Leicester is generally deep, and of a strong kind; in its composition, clay rather predominates; and although, at first, wrought with some difficulty, it is capable of becoming fruitful and luxuriant, since it retains the fertilizing effect of proper cultivation for a considerable time. It is rather moist in some parts of the town, and better adapted to grass, which it produces in abundance, than grains; especially those which are called English grains. There are, however, many fine and productive farms in town, and nothing but a proper attention to agriculture is required, to elevate its character as an agricultural district. Mechanical business has, for years, been more productive of profit than agriculture, under any circumstances, could reasonably be expected to be; and in consequence of this, the agricultural interest has been neglected. Within our own recollection, some of the most productive lands at present, were little better than mere wastes, where the briars and bushes were the only productions of the soil. We mention this circumstance to show, by the result of actual experiment, the capacities of the soil of the town, better than by any general description of its properties we could give. Garden vegetables thrive extremely well, and abundant crops of Indian corn and potatoes reward the labors of the husbandman: and in the north and east parts of the town there are many excellent orchards.

Ralph, and James Earle, were grandsons of that Ralph Earle who was one of the original settlers of the town. Their father's name was Ralph, who lived in what is now Paxton, on the place owned by Mr. Joseph Penniman. Ralph was made a member of the Royal Academy, in London. Both he, and James, excelled as much in portrait painting, as in landscape and historical pieces. The "Falls of Niagara," by Ralph, among his largest works, has been admired as one of much merit. Towards the close of his life, his habits became irregular, and it was only at intervals, that his fine genius exhibited itself, and then, always to the delight of every one. He died at Lansinburgh, N. Y. and his brother James, at Charleston, S. C. Both left families, but only the son of Ralph, bearing the same name, inherited the peculiar genius of his ancestors.

+ We cannot forbear noticing the great improvements which have recently been made in the lands near the village, by Mr. Alpheus Smith, Dr. Austin Flint, and others. Within a few years, the bushes entirely covered those fields which now produce so luxuriantly. A similar effect would result to most of the lands in town, by applying to them the same skill and persevering industry.

RIVERS, PONDS; &c.-This town is well watered, although there is no stream of any great magnitude flowing through it. The sources of several streams are within this town, which, taking different directions, pour its waters into the Atlantic by the Blackstone, the Thames, and the Connecticut. So slight are the barriers that separate the waters of some of these streams, that, about a quarter of a mile east of the Meeting House, where the county road passes through an apparently level meadow, the water that runs from the north side flows into the Blackstone, while that from the south runs into the Thames. And, in the west part of the town, about two miles from the Meeting House, the water running from the north side of the same road, flows into the Connecticut, and that from the south side into the Thames.

There are two natural ponds of considerable magnitude here; one, containing about sixty acres, situate about a mile southeast of the Meeting House, called the Henshaw pond; and the other, containing about eighty acres, called the North, or Shaw pond, in the northwest part of the town. The waters of the last pond are discharged at its southwest corner, and flow into the Chickapee river, forming one of its sources. There is, besides these, an artificial pond, in the southwest part of the town, called the "Burut-coat," containing about one hundred and twenty five acres. The courses

of the streams, except that from north pond, are generally towards the southeast. One of these rises in a swamp between Leicester and Paxton, and, running south, about half a mile west of the Meeting House, where it is called the "Rawson Brook," it receives the waters that flow from the Burnt-coat pond, about five miles from its source; thence, running southeasterly, it receives the waters of a brook coming in from the west, which has its source in Spencer, and afterwards receives the waters from the Henshaw pond, which flow from the northeast, at the Leicester and Saxon Factories, on the Stafford Turnpike, where it is called "French river;" then running southwardly through Oxford, it forms a part of the Quineboag river, which empties into the Thames, at Norwich. This unites a great proportion of the waters that flow

*It derived this name from that of the owner of the farm through which it flowed, near the village, in Leicester. This was Edward Rawson, Esq. who removed here from Mendon. He was, for a long time, an officiating magistrate in the County, and filled many responsible public stations in the town. He died at the advanced age of 87, in 1807, leaving one daughter. A son of his was once a practising Physician here, but died, early in life, many years before the death of his father.

through the town. There is, however, a considerable stream that rises in Paxton, and flows through the east part of this town, into Ward, and there falls into the Blackstone. It is called "Kettle Brook," and affords sufficient water power to carry a grist mill and saw mill, two woollen factories, and another grist mill, built upon it in this town. From the nature of the country, these streams present fine privileges for the erection of mills, wherever they are of sufficient magnitude to ensure a permanent supply of water. These have been mostly occupied, and there are, at present, upon the French river, and its branches, within the limits of this town, five saw mills, two grist mills, one tannery, two scythe manufacto ries, one card manufactory, and one extensive woollen manufacturing establishment; while, on the stream flowing from the North Pond, there are a grist mill, and two wire manufactories.

POPULATION.-The population of this town has gradually increased in numbers from its settlement till the present time; but much more rapidly of late, than at any former period, on account of the manufacturing establishments, from which a large number find employment and support. We do not possess documents to ascertain the precise numbers of Inhabitants in the town at the different periods of its history; nor do we deem these very important facts. At its first settlement it contained fifty families. In 1786, there were 838 inhabitants, of whom, 24 were negroes. In 1810, there were 1181; in 1820, 1252, and, at present, the town probably contains 1500 inhabitants; of whom, there are not more than 3 or 4 blacks.* In 1781, there were 102 effective men on the rolls of the militia companies, and 49 conditional exempts, and at present, there are about 200 men borne on the rolls of these companies.†

The population, as we remarked, has increased rapidly in this town within the last few years, and promises to increase still far

The population of this town includes, at present, three ministers of the Gospel, two Physicians, two Preceptors of the Academy, and two practising Counsellors and Attorneys at Law. Of the Clergymen, we shall hereafter speak. The Physicians are Austin and Edward Flint, the latter a son of the former. The Attorneys at Law are the Hon. Nathaniel P. Denny, who was the first Attorney that established himself here, and Emory Washburn. Bradford Sumner, Esq. now of Boston, was in business here, as an Attorney at Law, from 1812 till his removal to Boston, in 1820.

The first regimental review of the regiment to which these companies are attached, was, we believe, in 1785. The Regiment then included within its limits, the towns of Holden, Paxton, Spencer, Leicester, Ward and Worcester. It was divided in 1811, and Worcester and Holden taken from it. The regiment when reviewed in 1785 was commanded by Col. Seth Washburn. At present Lieut. Col. Stone of Ward is its commander.

« НазадПродовжити »